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Ambassador Spotlight with Ellie Senior

We first met the fabulous Ellie Senior through Cambridge Indie, when she signed up to participate in some focused training we delivered earlier this year. This propelled her to take part in an Enterprise Day at Cambourne Village College, where she helped students work through the steps involved in running your own business. In even better news she is also now booked in to talk with students at Parkside Community College, Swavesey Village College and Cottenham Village College about what it’s like to be a freelance copywriter in the coming months, as one of a team of Ambassadors delivering Careers Carousel and What’s My Line activities.

Name: Ellie Senior
Current position: Freelance Copywriter
Organisation: Ellie Senior Copywriting

What other jobs did you do, before this one?

I was a primary school teacher and deputy head for 10 years which was a fantastically rewarding job. I loved working with children, and in many ways teaching 8-year-olds to write has had a big influence on the way I now communicate effectively with adults too.

Complete this sentence: “When I was growing up, I wanted to be..."

an adventurer, sailing the oceans and climbing mountain ranges.

Best piece of career advice you have ever been given?

My dad once told me “When your to-do list reaches the bottom of the page, stop.”
I’m naturally an ambitious person and it can be tempting to work on my business 24/7 because there are so many ways I want to see it grow. But growth has to be sustainable and when you’re solely responsible for running your own business it is easy to burn out.

My dad was absolutely right, I now prioritise the things I need to do each day, week, and month so that I also have time for life.

When and why did you start volunteering with Form the Future?

I saw Form the Future pop up in my LinkedIn feed last summer and jumped straight in, joining a training day and then an Enterprise day.

What do you like most about being an Ambassador and/or what keeps you coming back?

I enjoy the direct connection being an Ambassador gives me to young people. The Form the Future activities are so valuable, but possibly more important is the exposure we’re giving young people to different ways to think about the world of work.

When I was in school and university myself, opportunities to explore career options and advice was sporadic at best. It makes me feel good to be representing my profession, both as a writer and as a freelancer, so that students today are more aware of the options available.

How do you know that volunteering with Form the Future makes a real difference to young people (do you have a story you can share, that illustrates this)?

During the last Enterprise Day I participated in I had so many small conversations with individual students who were genuinely engaged in developing a (albeit hypothetical) business. If they can put that much energy into a mock situation, I feel excited to see what that enthusiasm could create in the real world.

Putting aside the benefit to the student, how else has volunteering with Form the Future been a beneficial experience for you?

I return from attending Form the Future activities energised by the optimism of youth! Working with young people provides a different perspective which sees me return to my writer’s desk with inspiration refreshed.

What would you say to someone who’s wondering whether to sign up as an Ambassador with Form the Future?

It’s a pleasure to be a small part of something I truly believe will have impact on widening students’ horizons long term.

These young people are our colleagues and clients of the future! What could be more important than investing in them now?

We share the Ambassador Spotlight in our monthly Ambassador Update emails, as well as on our website and social platforms. It’s a wonderful way to raise the profile of your own volunteering whilst supporting Form the Future in a new and different way.

If you’d like to feature in our next Ambassador Spotlight, email Dawn, our Ambassador Engagement Manager and she’ll send you questions to respond to.

Register to volunteer

Thank you for choosing to become a volunteer with Form the Future! In order to join our volunteer community and get yourself involved in some of our events, please follow these steps:

 

  1. Click the button below and complete the Registration Form
  2. Upon receiving your completed form we will create a Volunteer Profile for you then send you log in details and information on how to sign up for volunteering opportunities
  3. You can then sign up for volunteering opportunities at your leisure!

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