Second Interview at BBC Oxford

As promised in an earlier post, this is a second interview done at the BBC Oxford studies about my first year's experiences at Ruskin. Enjoy. 

90 Day Placement Begins

Today I started my 90-day placement as part of the second year of the Social Work programme. I will be at a family centre in Oxford. Today I was privileged to come into contact with mothers and their children at the Centre. It was a great time chatting with them and playing with the kids, all the while watching and observing. I will be keeping a regular journal here as I go along but because of privacy issues, I won't be going into specifics. Today was mainly orientation and introduction to the work and processes of the Centre.

I also want to take this opportunity to welcome all first year students to Ruskin. You're in for a blast and you couldn't have chosen a better place to pursue your studies. Congratulations! You're in safe hands and trust me, you will get all the support you need to study.

To all continuing student, well done for getting into a new year. Have fun and all the best for the year ahead.

Catch up with you soon.

So soon a year has come and gone!!

Hi all. So soon one year has come by so quickly. At the end of last term (the end of the first year), I did some interviews with BBC TV and RADIO who wanted to find out how the first year went - both the ups and downs.

Personally, I enjoyed every bit of the first year. It hasn't been all rosy and smooth sailing though. I've had some pretty low times especially with the outcome of some of my results. It can be emotionally tough when after putting in a lot of work and yet not quite getting the outcome one expects. All the same, it has been a good year and the learning continues!! After all, that's what being a student is all about. Isn't it?

I've also had lots of new experiences, getting to make and know new friends, learning new things, doing presentations and lots more. Generally doing stuff that took me out of my comfort zone. The first challenge I had was time management, and then getting into studying mode, doing my assignments etc. Not that it was easy but I feel I've achieved something significant having come through one year successfully.

I'm now looking forward to the second year! Hooray. The programme for the new year will consist of doing some placement work to get further practical experience. I will be working with a Children and  Family Centre. I'm rather looking forward to it and I'll keep you posted as to how it goes. Once again, THANKS!!!! to RUSKIN COLLEGE who have made my dream come through.

That's it for now, folks. Look out for my second TV interview with BBC Oxford to be posted online  shortly.

Been a while

This is my first post after our spring term. I fell ill during the holidays and have just got back on my feet again. It has been a very challenging time. So far, I've been trying to make up for lost time working on the submission of missed assignments and doing my best to make sense of the lessons I've missed.

There have been times when I thought I would give up. But thank God am fine now and getting better everyday. I had great support from all - My family, friends, collegues, and the lecturers.

How quick the days and weeks pass by. Just now, the first year is almost over!!.

I'll do well to be posting more often. See you soon.

Photos

I've got some new photos on my facebook page. See them here.

Hello

A few days ago, I did a presentation on the observation placement I went to at the Oxfordshire Youth Offending Serivice (YOS). It was nerve-wracking but I managed to sail through successfully and the good news is, I passed it!!

Now the pressure is on again because my essays are due for submission and it's not been easy for me combining looking after my young kids and getting the essays done. I lost concentration one of them and it affected my result in that one but I'm aiming to get better in the other ones. No one said it's going to be easy and that's the challenge!

I have a few projects lined up for the holidays. I will be going to some churches and community groups to give a talk about Ruskin and hopefully get similar people in my position back into education at Ruskin. Watch this space. The events will be posted online when I'm done. That's it for another day.

Placement at Oxfordshire Youth Offending Service

I've just been to a placement at the Oxfordshire Youth Offending Service. I had the opportunity to shadow a Social Worker dealing with offending youths and the County's programmes aimed at preventing these people from entering the Criminal Justice System. This really gave me an insight into the social issues confronting the county and most importantly, thanks to Ruskin College, I felt like a qualified Social Worker.

I had a practical understanding to the theories and case studies we've been contemplating in class. I invite everyone to come along with me to Ruskin to see the opportunities available. You won't be disappointed.

Back from Holidays!!

How's everyone? We're now back from holidays and work begins again. Our re-opening time had to be rescheduled at Ruskin because of the intense snow that hit Oxford. Here's a brief catch up as to what I've been up to.

On the 4th of December, I gave a 5mins talk at the Ruskin Council Meeting where I was priviledged to meet the Council Members and two other Ransackers. I was happy to share my story again with them and it was an interesting time of interaction.

On the 10th of December, we had our Christmas party at Ruskin hall and we also had a Class Night Out at Frankies! Oh God, I really enjoyed myself. Find the photos on my Facebook page. That's it for now. I'll be back soon.