In 2017 I was asked by our founder Nigel if I could help get a project off the ground. I agreed. I was sent on a City & Guilds training course to get the knowledge and know-how needed to start this computer recycling programme. I first started working with 2econd Chance, helping organise the planning and legal groundwork to start. The project was halted for three year because of the pandemic and changing restrictions. We moved into the office in Hendon in Spring 2021 and the team began to expand.
When I first started in the office, I got to know each member of staff and the different roles they play. To start with the team only had four other members, I was the first trainee. We started the venture by recruiting people to become trainees and getting machines donated for repair.
As we were getting into the project, my boss thought it would be a good idea for me to do a public speaking course so that I can become an ambassador for 2econd Chance. There were several classes of practise, organising speeches and learning breathing exercises to keep calm. At the end of the course, there was a presentation where I gave a speech about how I started 2econd Chance. While I was doing this I was heard by Carol Allen (organiser of BETT: British Educational Technology Trade show), she liked my talk and wanted me to talk at the trade show. BETT takes place at the Excel Arena and is the biggest education event in Europe, with tens of thousands of visitors each year. I would be joining the ranks of previous speakers such as Brian Cox and Sir Bob Geldof!
I got together with a colleague to write my speech, it took several attempts to get it right with a lot of people reassuring me that it would be ok. On the day I still felt nervous about how the day would go with so many people walking around the show itself. Thankfully my auditorium was small, there were only around 50 people, to my relief! I got wired up with a headset and I delivered my speech. It was met with great praise and I got a lot of positive feedback which made me feel more confident about speaking in public. The experience of speaking at BETT allowed me to feel more comfortable in front of people I didn’t know and encouraged me not to be shy.
At the end Carol and her colleague came and asked if I’d consider doing it all over again next year, to rerun the fun, I said I’d think about it. Now that 2econd Chance has grown with more staff and more trainees, I feel that there’s even more to share next time if I do the trade show talk. We made some excellent connections from the show and am really looking forward to what happens next.