823_UCB_240x170_UG Prospectus 2021_AW_WEB

OUR STUDENTS Naomi Donald Youth violence and domestic abuse consultant Youth, Community and Families BA (Hons) Since graduating, Naomi has been busy changing lives for the better, working as a consultant on a range of Midlands-based projects to reduce youth violence and raise educational aspirations, leading workshops in scores of schools and community centres. She has helped develop pioneering research on youth violence and domestic abuse for national charity Safelives, developed a community performance arts project exploring trauma through storytelling and is working with young people on a project on peer-on-peer abuse and self-love. If she hadn’t discovered the Youth, Community and Families degree at University College Birmingham, however, it could all have been very different for Naomi, who regularly comes back to guest lecture. “I was unhappy in my career and spent some time researching degrees that would enable me to work within the community with young people and their families,” she said. “This degree was offered at two universities. However, after visiting both, I felt University College Birmingham was right for me. “During my degree, I learned how to communicate academically and conduct research to articulate myself more clearly to large organisations, while the broad knowledge I gained has enabled me to confidently work within a variety of settings. “I completed very different placements at a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and then at a counselling and psychotherapy service. I felt it was important to experience work within settings I had no experience in. “As a mature student, I was nervous about starting university. However, I found it to be a relaxed, diverse and friendly environment. My lecturers always delivered interesting lectures and seminars, and it was easy to book one-to-ones when I needed help. “They also took time to engage with students and offer words of encouragement along the way.”

I chose University College Birmingham as I felt the environment was diverse, warm and inviting and the broad range of modules also appealed to me.

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