Mentoring: My experience of the Futures Fast Track programme

Guest blog by Alun James, UBS volunteer mentor on the Futures Fast Track programme 

UBS employee Alun James admitted that he didn't know much about IntoUniversity's Futures Fast Track programme when he first signed up. However, the opportunity to make a difference in a young person's life was more than enough reason for him to get involved. Alun says: "It sounded like a good opportunity to make a big impact in a short amount of time and I liked the idea of one-on-one time helping a student".

Alun was paired with Sering, and after their meeting at UBS (organised through IntoUniversity Hackney South) he took the opportunity to help Sering work on his CV and deliver invaluable interview practice that could connect him to opportunities related to potential work experience and jobs before university.

On the benefits of this programme, Alun says: "The kids are bright, ambitious and keen and I felt like you could help them quite a lot in a short amount of time. It's really positive what was going on there. It's a great programme and I've mentioned it to other people in the office - hopefully it's in their minds now".

The mentoring sessions have also inspired Alun to think of ways to help the students outside of the programme through fundraising initiatives and interview preparation. Many thanks to all of our Futures Fast Track Mentors for their continued support of this programme.

Sering, Alun's mentee on the Futures Fast Track programme