Samuel Valentine, a year 12 pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen Bethesda, joined the team here at Ambition North Wales last week for a week of work experience.
Samuel has a passion for concept art and animation so he worked alongside our Strategic Communications and Engagement Lead, Bethan, on some exiting media animations that Ambition North Wales will launch in the future.
We asked Samuel about his week with us:
How did you feel about joining the team?
I was so nervous at first, I’ve never really worked in an office environment before and didn’t really know what to expect, but I really had no need to be worried. I was well looked after and all the team were so lovely, offering me support and help if needed. It was a lovely, relaxed atmosphere in the office. It gave me a real view into office working and I tried things that I’ve not done before, like creating on Canva, multiscreen working and using a standing desk. I liked the fact that I was set a piece of work and then trusted to get on with it, it made me work harder as I wanted to show what I could do.
What was the best thing you did during the week?
I went to spend a day at M-SParc with Rees Brown, who is the Skills Portal Project Manager. Rees invited me to be part of a meeting that was discussing the development of the skills portal that will help young people across Wales find information about what skills are needed for certain roles and where they can access training etc. It was really interesting to see the development of the portal so far and also be able to give feedback as a young person about the platform and share my views and ideas. I think it will be a really useful tool when it’s up and running and I’m hopeful that my contribution helped with the design element.
Was there anything you didn’t like?
Not really, no. It was all awesome.
What did you learn?
This may seem silly, but I learnt how to get a train to and from Llandudno (from Bangor) on my own and feel confident about doing it. I also learnt that even if you have an individual piece of work that it takes a team to make it great and that teamwork is so important. I learnt that I can and should always ask for help. I learnt quite a lot about carbon reduction and biodiversity and how Ambition North Wales is working hard to reduce Carbon by 40% during construction within its projects.
What would you say to anyone else thinking of approaching Ambition North Wales for a placement?
I’d say – do it! Get in touch, the team is so friendly and supportive, with such a wide range of skills and areas of interest and knowledge. I had a real view into life at Ambition North Wales, what it is like to work as part of a team, what it is like to work in the office and at home and was given so many opportunities in such a short space of time.
I want to thank everyone at Ambition North Wales for the opportunity especially, Nia Medi Williams, Bethan Airey, Rees Brown and Dan Powell (Dan is on placement from Bangor University and took me under his wing the first day, helping me with the train and finding my way around the building and things).
The team here, were blown away by Samuel’s skill and talent and are so pleased he joined us for the week. He became a member of the team straight away and took a on a lot of work in a very short space of time. He even chaired the team meeting we have on a Friday and set the team the task of sharing what their favourite animated film or series was - generating lots of interesting conversation.
We are so pleased that Samuel had a valuable work experience week with us and can’t wait to get his work published – in fact Samuel has volunteered to finalise a few bits in his own time over the next few weeks, following feedback, to get them publication ready!
Well done, Samuel, it was a pleasure to have you here at Ambition North Wales. We think you have a very big and bright future ahead of you.