Deloney has been coming to The ClementJames Centre for over ten years and has been involved in many of the centre’s programmes. Below he shares how ClementJames motivated him to train to become a paramedic.
“I first started coming to The ClementJames Centre in 2008 and they have always been a helping hand. When I was younger I didn’t know what I wanted to do in terms of a career path or subject I wanted to study. My parents didn’t go to university so I didn’t see that as an option. Growing up I attended a number of programmes such as after school academic support, The Carnival Arts Programme, mentoring, one-to-one personal statement support and primary and secondary school study weeks. All these programmes presented me with the opportunity to be open-minded and develop the skills and knowledge I needed to figure out what I wanted to do in the future. There were always people from different career backgrounds that attended the centre so I found out what they did, which helped me gauge what I wanted to do.
I realised I wanted to be a paramedic because my little brother was in and out of hospital so I was around paramedics often. During the half-term in 2017, I attended a Medicine and Healthcare holiday programme, where we got involved in loads of interactive activities with current students studying Medicine at St George University. They ran a workshop on Paramedicine and Radiography and I learnt about Médecins Sans Frontières. We practiced CPR and they gave us an insight into their day to day job and this solidified my goal of becoming a paramedic in the future.
Some of my best memories are from the Carnival Arts Programme. I’ve done it for 4 years in a row. Everyone works together and helps each other to make their costume which has improved my communication and teamwork skills. It’s not an academic programme but it’s a great way to meet new people. I am still in contact with the people I have met through Carnival Arts over the years.
Through coming to ClementJames my communication skills have grown a lot. I used to be quite shy, but now I can talk to anyone. I enjoy the aspect that I can go to members of staff anytime and for anything. Whenever I have questions, I know they will have the answer for it. ClementJames motivated me to think about my interests and moulded me to think about my career path through all the programmes and speaking to staff and volunteers.
Now I mentor on Wednesdays, to give something back to the centre that offered me ongoing support. I really enjoy it, it’s cool working with the kids. I also have a corporate mentor myself who is great and they motivated me to explore different options to get to my career path. I have recently become a ‘Trainee Emergency Ambulance Technician’ with East Midlands ambulance service. Once I complete my one-year apprenticeship, I will go to university to study Paramedic Science. I would like to thank the charity for being there for me for over 10 years of my life.”