Raj Kumari says that volunteering is a great way to gain relevant experience while you are studying.

Raj is in the final year of her Sociology degree. She is a mature student who returned to education via an Access course and this is where she discovered her interest in Sociology.

Raj is passionate about the benefits of volunteering and she was volunteering before she came to study at the University of Wolverhampton. She was delighted to learn that by taking the University’s innovative volunteering modules, Volunteering in the Community and Volunteering in Action, she could get credit for her volunteering which would count towards her degree.    

Raj’s volunteer placement is with an education centre that works with secondary school children, with behavioural difficulties, who are not in mainstream education. She was attracted to this placement because she had an interest in child development and education. Raj worked closely with the children supporting their learning in different subjects, such as Maths and Art. She has also been responsible for taking the children on trips and organising activities for them.

“Working with the children has given me a real sense of achievement, particularly when I help them to understand something.”

For her final year, Raj is taking the Sociology Community Link module which involves her carrying out a piece of research related to her volunteering. She is investigating whether the use of guided reading sessions has a positive impact upon educational progression. Once her research is complete she will make recommendations that are likely to have a direct impact on educational practice at the education centre.  

“I have gained an enormous amount from volunteering. It has been personally rewarding, I have been able to use what I have learnt in Sociology and I have developed a working knowledge of the system that supports children with behavioural difficulties. My soft skills have really developed and I have gained some very good strategies for dealing with challenging behaviour.”

Raj says that volunteering has been an essential part of her course, without it she feels that she would only be getting half of what studying a degree can offer. It has also given her a load of relevant experience to add to her CV.