Occasionally, Flourish take on part time intern opportunities. Jennifer, a current intern tells us about her experience working for Flourish one year on.
It has been over a year since I eagerly contacted Nickala (Founder and Director of Flourish) with my CV. I had little confidence and knowledge about the Social Enterprise world and enthusiastically expressed my interest to build upon various skills that are prevalent within third sector employment.
Now, I embark on a new journey that will situate me at Oxford University to study for my Master’s degree in Religion. Despite now being located in a completely different city, I nevertheless intend to continue my time here at Flourish remotely.
When I look back at the start of my involvement with Flourish in September of 2020, one of my first tasks, along with the Time To Grow participants at that time, was to detail what I wanted to achieve from my time at Flourish.
On a piece of paper, I wrote “to better prepare me for giving me a clearer vision of what I want to pursue after my studies, as well as the relevant skills and knowledge to accompany it.” I’m happy to say that not only have I achieved this, but I’ve learned so much more than I could imagine!
Not only has Nickala taught me the behind the scenes of how Social Enterprise are run, such as how to write funding bids as well as accurately recording qualitative research within (countless) excel documents, but I’m fortunate to have seen how her work translates into real world social change. I’ve helped out with in person events, such as the Time To Grow workshops and the ‘How To Festival’, where I had the chance to meet the Women who are benefiting from their involvement with Flourish.
I’ve also witnessed how Flourish has been developing over the year, growing the team and securing funding bids that will contribute to the overall growth of the business. For instance, the recent successful bid for the Heaton Chapel Station will provide social enterprises with a community led hub to enhance their capacity, giving them the opportunity to participate in events, peer mentoring and training sessions as well as collaborate on projects impacting Stockport and beyond. I look forward to seeing how Flourish will grow over time, supporting more and more women to start their own social ventures.
Right now I am still settling into the academic life, after taking a year off studies. I hope that once my degree is completed, in June 2022, that my master’s course will have given me grounding in how religious groups are interacted with in different settings and communities. I would like to hope that I will continue to stay within the realm of social change work, either working within government policy or elsewhere, with hopes to make a difference, observable on a ground-level. Currently, I am trying to balance out my Arabic classes, boxing classes, and university work – which has definitely been a learning curve!
For those considering whether they should continue down the path of education or stay within the professional realm, I would say that it is definitely worth researching. There are various scholarships and bursaries out there to help support you with your finances. Not only that, but within university, you have an amazing opportunity to network with people who are interested in similar things – as well as having the opportunity to learn new languages, and develop new skills!
