Volunteer Recognition Day: Celebrating Adrian!

Today we celebrate Volunteer Recognition Day. We want to dedicate this day to our kind and generous team of volunteers who give up their time to support learners.

Adrian, who has been volunteering since he retired in September 2022, is currently supporting learners in a variety of lessons. Read his story below:

How long have you been a volunteer at ACL for?

Since retiring in September 2022.

What part of the job do you enjoy most?

How someone reacts when they discover/learn Digital Skills which allow them to do something they had never done before, giving them new opportunities. This echoes my favourite quote, from Arthur C Clarke:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is as close to magic as makes no difference

Have there been any moments during your volunteering that you’re particularly proud of?

Providing help beyond the curriculum and the classroom, such as:

• Helping students in a maths lesson not only understand both analogue and digital clocks but showing how to display both simultaneously as an android phone widget to help them beyond the classroom.
• Supporting students as they discover how so much information is available on-line, which they never imagined that was there or even possible to find.

Outside of volunteering, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I spend time with family and friends and continue to self-study. At the moment I am spending time learning how to use 3D graphical modelling software to create digital art.

What would you say to someone who was considering volunteering but might feel a bit nervous?

I don’t believe that anyone ever stops learning. All the time that I spend helping others learn, I know that I am learning new things as I do so. So students, staff and volunteers all help one another and I think that is why I feel comfortable giving my time volunteering at Essex ACL.