In her ninth blog, Emily continues to write about her placement as she starts the new half term:
First day back. Half term 4 already?! The last 8 weeks have gone extremely fast.
From looking at how much I have achieved over the last 9 months and how much I have learnt since the first day I started is unbelievable. I never thought I would be doing some of the things I have done during my time at The White Rose Academies Trust. I remember the first month I started; it took me ages to get my head around all the different Acronyms used and meeting schedules and how confusing I thought it all was and now I am trusted as a Line Manager and teaching others how to do these things.
Within the first two months of working for the Trust I was made the Project Manager for the New Catering Procurement which included communicating with an external Catering Consultant, the Academy Business Managers and a Board Member, to ensure each stage of the tender was planned correctly and to reach the deadlines set for the new contract to start in April 2019. Seven months on, we had ten companies apply for the contract; we then had site visits after which we had to shortlist down to just three companies. Late January, the interviews took place and we are now down to a final company which is currently with the Board of Directors for final approval. I feel proud to have been a part of this successful journey and I am excited to watch the new Catering contract start in April 2019.
Another part of my internship, which I find extremely honoured to be a part of, is working with the Trust Student Leadership Group. In June 2018, these students wrote letters to the Executive Principal of the Trust and were then chosen to be part of this group. Throughout my time at the Trust, I have been helping to organise different events for these students to take part in and to have inspirational business keynote speakers come in and present to the students.
Last week, along with three other key Trust colleagues, I took the students to Loughborough where they visited British Gypsum (part of the Saint Gobain Group) where they were shown around the plant and enjoyed talks from BG colleagues, which was extremely interesting. We then took the students to Loughborough University, which is where many of the GB Olympians trained, the students were really impressed with the campus and facilities. Next month we have planned a two night stay in London with these students, where we will be visiting the Houses of Parliament, WE Day, Google Headquarters and also seeing a West End Show! I thoroughly enjoy being able to play a part in giving the students these amazing opportunities, building a connection with the students and watching their confidence and aspirations grow throughout the year. Working with this group of young people is very different to the rest of my internship ie planning trips for students, however it is great fun and very rewarding.
I am looking forward to starting new projects and learning even more exciting and interesting aspects regarding the world of education over the next few months.
