University Ambassador Talk at Callerton Academy in Newcastle- Hamish Barrie✏️

Recently, two of our University Ambassadors were invited to speak to students at Callerton Academy in Newcastle. Hamish Barrie started volunteering with F4S last year and has been a wonderful addition to our community, speaking at several virtual assemblies and leading 1:1 career acceleration sessions with schools in the UK.

Hamish is currently an undergraduate in Accounting and Finance at Newcastle University. When he was in the process of applying to university, he felt it was very daunting, but a little bit of guidance from students undertaking an undergraduate degree was massively helpful. That’s why he decided to be a University Ambassador! 🌟

We asked him a few questions about his experience with F4S and talking to the students at Callerton Academy in Newcastle. Here’s what he said…

Q: What was the event you participated in, and what was your role as a university ambassador?

“Callerton Academy in-person Assembly, presenting my university and educational pathway. My role as a university ambassador was to provide insight and reliability for the students in their educational careers. Stacy mentioned that these were the first university students they had seen, which gave them much more insight into what the next few years may look like.”

Q: What surprised you most about the experience?

“How insightful and knowledgeable the students were about what career paths they wanted to pursue. The engagement the students gave was brilliant, answering questions and coming up with thoughts and ideas on specific topics such as potential career paths and ways to achieve goals and aspirations.”

Q: Do you feel like you gained confidence participating in this in-person event?

“Lots of confidence in public speaking and presentation skills, which will be very useful in my career and last year of university.”

Q: Can you share a memorable moment or interaction from the day?

“The most memorable moment/interaction was being able to ask questions and listen to answers from the students. The vast array of answers and aspirations was very interesting, and it was brilliant to hear from a range of students what their goals are for the next few years post-GCSE study.”

Q: What would you say to a fellow student who’s thinking of becoming a university ambassador?

“Fantastic opportunity to be able to give insight and knowledge to younger students. I wish I had an insight into what university was like when I was younger. Being able to give back and provide this to students not only benefits you, in terms of CV/Career Skills, but also massively helps the students in their understanding of university and higher education.”

A huge thank you to Hamish for taking the time to give insights and encourage the younger generation! 🙂

You can find full replays from Hamish’s virtual assemblies on the resource centre here.

If you want to invite Hamish to speak at a virtual assembly, you can find his profile on the platform.

We are so excited to see future talks from Hamish 🥳