After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in Psychology last summer, Maya Chauhan-Sims (OE2010-2017) decided to volunteer with The Kids Network, a community of children and young professionals connecting through fun, friendship and hardship for positive social change. Maya hoped to gain valuable experience to inform her future career choice and to support the community.
The experience has sparked an interest in children’s mental health for Maya and she is now looking to train to become a children’s and young people’s well-being practitioner.
What are your best memories of Emanuel?
I have lots of fond memories from my time at Emanuel, too many to recall, but the best memories are the amazing life-long friends Emanuel gave me.
Did any particular teachers at Emanuel influence you?
Miss Blaikie! She joined when I started sixth form. Having a female rowing coach who was so committed to making us the best we could be, but who also just “got” us girls and managed to put up with us was really special. She was one of the most kind, caring and considerate members of staff who I was lucky enough to see six days a week thanks to Saturday morning rowing training!
Ms Butler, my Psychology A level teacher, was also a very influential teacher. She founded my love for the subject and her words of wisdom and encouragement led me to study Psychology at university.
What are you proudest of from your time at Emanuel?
Winning a silver medal at the National Schools’ Regatta was a proud moment, but also getting the grades to get into university.
How did you get involved with the Kids Network?
After graduating I was really unsure about what to do next. Travelling wasn’t an option due to Covid-19 and finding a job when you are unsure what you want to do is hard, let alone in a pandemic!
I have always been interested in child development and working with children, but was still not 100% sure if this was a career path I wanted to take, so I decided to look into volunteering. It is the perfect way to give back to your community as well as gain experience and figure out what is it that you enjoy doing.
I did a few google searches for volunteering with kids in London and The Kids Network came up, I really loved the concept of their charity and thought I would be able to learn a lot from it. Being a volunteer mentor has confirmed that working with children is definitely something I want to pursue. I have become interested in children’s mental health and I am now looking to train to become a children and young people’s well-being practitioner.
What does the work of the charity involve?
The Kids Network is a fairly new charity that was set up with the intention of connecting young professionals and young people in London who would not usually cross paths. The aim is to support wellbeing, increase belonging and decrease loneliness in young people. Mentors are matched with a mentee who is between the age of 9 and 11 as this is a crucial time in their social and emotional development when they make the jump from primary to secondary school.
What will your role be?
As a volunteer mentor I act as a role model with the aim of helping build my mentee’s confidence and resilience and help them develop tools for a positive future. I meet with my mentee once a week for the duration of a year. Our sessions are very much child-led, focusing on the individual needs of the child. Due to lockdown our sessions have been limited to meeting outside at the local park or phone calls, but hopefully we can start exploring more of London once we are out of lockdown!