May 24, 2022, by Grace Dixon
Leaders in Focus: Marcus, Kathryn & Libby
Leaders In Focus
This year has been a fantastic year for all of our volunteers here at UoN sport. 257 student volunteers have contributed 3202 hours over the course of this academic year. Leaders In Focus is here to celebrate volunteers from all the different programs the Leadership Academy has on offer. We have so many incredible volunteers which meant we couldn’t pick just one. Congratulations to Marcus Briggs, Kathryn Higgins, Henry Nelson and Libby Taylor!
We were lucky enough to hear a little bit about these winning volunteers experience. They have volunteered across a wide range of all our opportunities. Here, is a little bit about what volunteering they have done and why they chose to volunteer at UoN Sport.
Marcus
“This year has been my second year as President of the University’s Dodgeball club. I help coach our 3 competitive teams. Through dodgeball I also take part in the DISCO programme where myself and other dodgeball members volunteer at primary schools and run after-school dodgeball sessions. I also run fortnightly Just Play Dodgeball sessions, and was later picked to be one of the IMS Rugby Execs. In this role I help to organise fixtures and referee allocations every Wednesday to make sure students have the opportunity to regularly play rugby with friends. I have also volunteered and supported the University’s IMS programme in other ways too. I have assisted in the setup and running of the new IMS Touch Rugby programme. I have volunteered at other large events at the University such as BUCS Big Wednesday last month, and I helped to run the IMS Halls Sports Day back in October where I ran a badminton tournament.
There are 2 main reasons why I am always eager to volunteer and throw myself into sport. Firstly, I am just a sports fanatic, whatever sport it is, no matter how few of the rules I know, I’m eager to learn about new sports. Secondly, sport is a huge part of my life, I enjoy every second when I’m playing, and I just want everyone to have the chance to experience that same feeling by finding their passion in sport. This season I have been unable to play rugby due to an ongoing injury, but volunteering has been an amazing way for me to stay involved with sport and keep being amongst the action.”
Kathryn
“I’ve been volunteering through UON for the Laureus Sport For Good Programme. We made a short video whereby the children explained the importance of physical exercise. We also came up with, and demonstrated several games that could be played at home to keep their families physically active. I was involved in volunteering at Big BUCS Wednesday where I was a Team Liaison Officer. This gave me an insight as to how a big sporting event is run. I was also given the fantastic opportunity to commentate on the BUCS Livestream for the Men and Ladies Hockey finals which I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to any volunteers who are given such an opportunity!
I decided to volunteer to give back to the community and inspire children to become physically active. Sport has had such a positive impact on my life and I wanted to help in any way that I could to show the ways in which physical activity can improve lives.”
Libby
“I’ve been taking part in the sport for good programme, in which I help deliver physically active sessions that try and educate year 6 and year 7 about life skills.
I decided to volunteer at the uni because I have had experience in teaching younger kids before and loved the excitement they get when they learn something new.”
Get Involved
Our Sport in Schools and Sport for Good programs have been especially beneficial to children within the local community. In fact, 997 pupils across 16 schools have received fun sports sessions from our volunteers. A total of 5968 hours have been spent in the local schools. This is a huge amount of time in which our volunteers have made an incredibly positive contribution.
If you will be returning to UoN in September, now is the perfect time to start thinking about how you can get involved. Check out the Leadership Academy Website as well as the Sport for Good Page. If you have any questions, please join the Leadership Academy Facebook Page.
Start making plans for next year now!
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