LYDIA OLLIVER

Projects Coordinator, Celebration Church UK

I was always unsure about what I'd like to do after university, I just knew that I wanted to help people! I was intrigued to hear that Queen's University was to pilot a work placement module during my final year of my Psychology degree. Psychology is not known to be a vocational subject, and therefore it can be difficult as a third-year student to consider what career paths may be an option after graduation. I don't usually put myself forward for competitive things, but I couldn't let this opportunity go so I applied and was thrilled to be accepted! 

My placement was at Cooperation Ireland, a peace-building organisation and registered charity. I worked directly on the FACE Programme, which facilitated opportunities for service families living in Belfast to connect with local residents in the neighbourhood, particularly woman to woman. This is a very marginalised community, and it was a real honour to work with the team to build trust and understanding between individuals. I loved being hands-on in the planning and delivery of events, even getting to host networking sessions at Stormont. This experience fuelled my passion for charity work, but also increased my skills and confidence in planning and managing projects. I learned a great deal from the team (Barry, Alan and Iulia) who were amazing at teaching me and giving me opportunities to lead. I loved it so much that I stayed on after my placement to continue to work on the Programme until my graduation.

So much of what I learned on placement plays a part in my job now. After being furloughed during the 2020 lockdowns, I created a volunteer project through my church to bring our community together and support those most vulnerable. 

This has developed over time to become my full-time job, providing a long-term community project supporting vulnerable families called Celebrate Family Food. I have since created a number of other community projects such as Celebrate Kids which provides school holiday enrichment for children from low income families. All of these projects are created, facilitated and managed by me! 

This is something I never imagined I would do when I started my degree, but it pairs my passion for helping people with all the project management skills that I gained on placement. l also get to work with my husband and bring our one year old daughter to work every day - a perk of creating your own jobs! I would absolutely recommend the Insight Programme to anyone!

Profile submitted May 2023