Agnieszka is studying Mathematics with Modern Languages (MSci).
Where do you volunteer?
For the past 7 years I have volunteered in various places; I befriended people with learning and physical disabilities, did some one-off events, got involved in science shows for families with children and the most recent project I undertook was the UCL Maths Challenge. In 2010/11 I have been one of the leaders of this project.
What do you do as a volunteer?
Being a leader of Maths Challenge I have a long-term responsibility for the project; helping on the day is one thing, whereas preparing a particular stage is something completely different. The latter involves a lot of planning; we usually brainstorm with the other leaders about the format of the events, we discuss ideas that we have and we find interesting maths problems. Planning also involves room bookings, keeping track of the budget we still have available, print the handouts we need, prepare presentations and everything else that we could possibly need on the day of the actual event.
Once the children come, we have to make sure that the event runs smoothly and ensure the engagement from all of the children. We aim to see a competitive spirit with a lot of positive vibes and it is our task to maintain it should any of the teams feel left out.
What were your first impressions when you started volunteering?
By the time I became involved in Maths Challenge I had already had 4 years of experience volunteering with vulnerable adults and children with disabilities. The time I have spent with them was extremely rewarding, but also very demanding. The support I have received from the other members of my group was invaluable and it really made me stronger and more confident when dealing with various problems I encountered while volunteering.
How do you feel about it now?
Comparing to the other types of volunteering I have done before, UCL Maths Challenge is a project with completely different objectives, but it essentially requires the same qualities; I have to be open to other people and very flexible – after all, as a project leader I have contact with children, students and teachers and all of them require different attitude and approach. My past experiences helped me accommodate the needs of different people involved in the project and made me aware of the hard work it requires.
Plus, I am generally quite bossy, so being a project leader is simply another challenge I gladly undertake!
What’s the best thing about volunteering?
It’s difficult to decide about one thing – there are so many reasons why people should volunteer! In general, it gives you an opportunity to do something you probably would not have done otherwise – planting trees, working with children, helping vulnerable adults etc. It also exposes you to the needs other people have; a lot of the volunteering projects help people who are lonely, disabled, elderly and for one reason or the other are excluded from society. Finally, by volunteering you put yourself outside of your comfort zone and you learn about yourself more than in any other situation.
And what’s the most challenging thing?
When you volunteer, you do it for the others and not necessarily for yourself. Very often volunteering is simply good fun, but the primary reason is something else. The most important – and most difficult – thing is to forget about yourself and for once don’t think about your own good, but about other people and their needs. When you volunteer you have to change the hierarchy and don’t put yourself in the first place.
How has volunteering changed you?
Through the volunteering I have been exposed to so many situations which were outside of my comfort zone, that it made me much stronger. I have become more aware of the needs of others. I have become much, much more patient. Volunteering taught me that the rewards not always come straight away and not always in the way you were expecting.
What difference do you feel you’ve made by volunteering?
The most trivial thing to say is that after each stage of UCL Maths Challenge I have seen the children smile and wait impatiently for the next stage. And we could see their sadness when the last stage was over – this shows that it really meant something to them and that we did a good job.
Via other types of volunteering I could see the difference in the attitude towards me; the fact that somebody being so vulnerable is willing to entrust himself/herself to me is the biggest reward I could think of.
Would you recommend the project to anyone else?
I would definitely recommend both types of volunteering I have done. Volunteering with vulnerable adults is a much more delicate task and it requires a very strong motivation. Bonding with vulnerable people is often a very long process and both sides have to build a relationship on foundations, which at least at first seem to be very rickety. In the same time, however, it gave me probably some of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
UCL Maths Challenge is a completely different project. It develops your skills and gives you an opportunity to work with really nice children from the local primary schools. The project like Maths Challenge gives you an independence if you need it and a group support whenever you encounter a problem you cannot tackle by yourself. That way, you can actually find the role that best suits you and take up as much responsibility as you know you can handle.
Read other volunteers’ stories