Opportunities: Student Ambassador (paid), Hanwell Hootie (voluntary)

I have grown up around Ealing and I'm currently studying towards a BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering. I am employed as a UWL Student Ambassador, a flexible role on and off campus, which has given me a better connection to the University and has helped me in other areas.

I became a Student Ambassador because I love to help others and it fits in well with my University studies. The role is very flexible - you can find your niche by exploring different roles, e.g hosting school visits or being a tour guide. Recently I found out about a local music festival event through the University and I was able to volunteer as a Venue Manager.

Hanwell Hootie is an annual free music festival where pubs and venues in Hanwell celebrate the life and work of Jim Marshall OBE, who opened up his first shop in Hanwell Broadway. This festival celebrates him, his legacy, the Marshal Amplifier and live music. This year there were 90 bands across 15 pubs! 

Working as the Venue Manager for Prince of Wales pub came with a wide variety of challenges that gave me an opportunity to prove that I could rise to the occasion and show my professional handling of situations. 

I developed my public speaking skills a lot as I had to communicate with many different audiences throughout the day. There were lots of different jobs available at the festival, such as MC work, sound engineering, band management and more. 

I would recommend volunteering in the community in this way to anyone at the University - especially those who love music. It was really fun to help out at the event and you would also get to meet other like-minded volunteers. Next year there will be even more bands and more opportunities to help out!