Amanda Gray

In this job, the role assigned to me was 'Group Leader' at a Children's Camp Site based in a school in East Grinstead. This role consisted of me being responsible for the children during the week while their parents were off at work. This was a complete 8-6 day and required a lot of attention, discipline and effort from me. The other Leader and I needed to know how to keep the children aged 6-8 entertained and engaged in the passive and active games we set up for them. I also did a SafeGuarding Training with many modules as part of the contract. This was crucial for me to attend to ensure the children's safety, welll-being as an employee code of conduct. I enjoyed this and it was paid, yet it was quite challenging and exhausting, teaching me very important life skills. Additionally, as I want to study Psychology later on in University, this helps me gain experience as I worked with/taught children. In this role, I was also a swimming demonstrator, leading the children into the pool to guide them. I was also a dance show choreographer, teaching them a simple but adorable dance for their parents at the end of the Camp.

During my childhood in Portugal I worked as a part time voice actress for many voiceover jobs. This was professional and paid. I read out lines of a story playing a character for an audiobook to teach children English. It was my Drama Teacher who offered me the jobs from time to time throughout the 5 years I worked with the company. It was a quiet yet friendly environment and I loved the whole experience. I learnt that I tend to rush words and speak too rapidly. It taught me that for future cases (not necessarily in a recording studio), I must not swallow my words but engage better with others and make sure they understand what I am saying. Especially when learning a new language, the resources must be helpful so as the girl working behind the scenes for the students, I had to be professional and wary of my deliverance of the lines I was speaking. I saw what a recording studio looked like for the first time. I learnt that the stool you sit on and the distance between it and the microphone is a significant detail to produce a coherent, clear, high quality deliverance of lines for the final recorded sound. Additionally, it was a very enthusiastic and respectful place, which was great for me to go to because I gained work experience and saw myself doing more of this in my future because I suited the job very well. Nonetheless, there were times I did nothing and simply had to wait for my colleagues to finish recording their lines. It felt frustrating yet I learnt how to be more patient and enjoy the moment. I know that's an essential skill in for every area in life.