Our Impact

Ceiran, 16, Renfrewshire

I’m currently in school due to sit my Advance Highers with the aim of studying to be a teacher. I saw the opportunity to join Young Scot and take part in the Content Collaborators Panel on Facebook and decided to sign up – I wanted to learn more about the administrative side of social media and develop some skills and experience in this area.

I enjoy using social media in my spare time, but it’s been interesting to find out more about content production. As part of the panel I had the opportunity to work on research about Young Scot’s website. It was the first time I’ve ever worked on something like this – the experience has helped me learn how to communicate better when working in a group It has also allowed me to keep up and understand more about the new technology! Being on the Content Collaborators panel is going to help me achieve my goals – I’ve gained confidence in addressing groups of people and overall people skills, know how to use different technology to communicate – all of this will help me when I’ll working as a teacher. I’ve also gained lots of confidence around social media and built my knowledge in this area.

I think all young people should take up the opportunity to volunteer with Young Scot – you never know the people you’ll meet and the friends you might end up making! It’s a great way to gain more confidence if you’re shy – definitely go for it!

 Rachel, 15, East Dunbartonshire

I’m currently in S4 in school. I’ve never really had the opportunity to learn about money management or digital safety but by taking part in the Content Collaborators Panel with Young Scot has given me lots of opportunities to learn more. I’ve learned basic information about taking care of my finances and what a credit card was – so useful for my future!

I saw the opportunity to join Young Scot advertised on an Instagram story and thought it looked interesting – when you’re little, everyone looks forward to getting their Young Scot card and it’s cool to actually be part of creating the social media posts that my friends see Young Scot posting!

Being part of the panel means I get to meet other young people from across Scotland once a month and we talk about positives and negatives of creating different content. I also get to access to other opportunities like one-off workshops. Everything I’ve taken part in has been really interesting and I have enjoyed it lots.

What really stands out to me so far is taking part in the #ThatsNotOK campaign. It’s specifically for young people to give them information about gender-based violence, rape, sexual assault, harassment, and problematic behaviour. Although it’s a serious topic – the workshop was such a positive environment, all the people running the discussion were nice, there wasn’t any awkwardness and lots of opportunities to contribute. I’ve really loved seeing the results of my participation in the workshop later in the campaign. Since I’m not 16 yet, I can’t work, so it’s been amazing to be able to put time into something and see the results of my work.

I’ve also made a new friend through Young Scot! We’ve been messaging on Instagram and it’s great to meet people who have similar interests as you. I definitely recommend that young people sign up for any opportunities available at Young Scot. Even if you’re shy and don’t want to take part in discussions, you can just sit back and listen – and you’ll still get loads out of it! The team at Young Scot are really friendly too and they make the workshops fun and something to look forward to.

Kiera, 19, Largs

My name is Kiera, I am 19 years old and live on the west coast in (not so) sunny Largs! I’m a student paramedic in my second year of study at Glasgow Caledonian University. I have always been interested in a career in healthcare, and I decided that paramedicine was for me. At times through school etc, it was difficult to convince people that this was something I could endeavour to achieve at a young age, with less relevant experiences immediately available to me.

However, it was this very reason that I applied for the mentorship experience with Pauline Howie. I’m someone who would consider themselves to have natural leadership qualities, however, is not at all as confident as they wish to be. Society naturally favours the extroverted, especially in leadership roles, and this experience has helped me to believe in my strength as an introvert, and that this is a great quality to have as a leader. It’s my hope that as a paramedic I will be able to lead change as more opportunities become available within the profession, and more than anything, empower people like myself who don’t possess stereotypically extroverted and masculine traits that are often associated with ‘good’ leaders in the workplace.

Coming into the experience, I was unsure of what to expect! I had an understanding that this experience was aimed at developed my knowledge and understanding of leadership but I was unsure what form this would take. I soon got to know that this was a really individualised experience, and I was in control of who I wanted to speak to and what I wanted to learn. I could request to meet with staff from all areas of the Scottish Ambulance Service with differing job roles. Getting to shadow and hear advice from Pauline herself was an amazing opportunity and having a point of contact (Chris) to talk over all of my ideas and worries with was so helpful.

To anyone applying in future… you will learn to become confident asking for things! This is a personalised experience and very much led by you. You get to make suggestions of who you’d like to speak to, questions you want to ask, places you would like to visit. This took me a while to become comfortable with, but I now realise that making requests and networking with people is how you grow in confidence.

Haleema, 14, East Dunbartonshire

I was looking for volunteering opportunities since I wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of young people and the opportunity to be a part of the #VisionMakers panel seemed like a great fit. Taking part gave me the opportunity to interview various Young Scot stakeholders, many of whom are high ranking public officials and CEOs. I’m currently in 2nd year in school and my teachers have commented on how much my public speaking and presentation skills improved.

Without taking part in the project, I wouldn’t be as confident and comfortable speaking to different groups of people. Young Scot helped me be more assertive and learn how to work within a team. I hope to work in the science field and being able to work as a part of a team and listen to everyone’s ideas is a big part of that.

I definitely recommend that young people take up opportunities with Young Scot – I feel like I’m making a positive difference to the lives of young people. All the staff and volunteers are supportive and welcoming and it’s a great experience!

Jordon, 21, Aberdeen

I’m currently studying tourism at college, and I saw the opportunity to be a part of the #VisionMakers panel advertised on Twitter and decided to go for it. I was aware of Young Scot because of the card, but this was my first time signing up for a volunteering opportunity. I was always drawn to projects that allow young people to use their voice and make sure that they’re heard.

I’m passionate about ensuring that young people can weigh in and tell organisations what they should be doing to support them, so it was incredible to actually see the results of our work at the #VisionMakers panel when the new Young Scot strategy launched.

The experience also helped me get better at sharing my thoughts, my voice is stronger. I made new friends – before this I didn’t work well as a part of a team and now my skills have definitely improved! I wouldn’t have gotten as many of the opportunities as I have if I haven’t signed up to be a part of the project. I’m now an #iWill Ambassador, a member of my local youth council and a member of the Northern Alliance Regional Improvement Youth Advisory Group.

I 100% recommend that other young people get involved with Young Scot – especially if you haven’t volunteered before! If you don’t feel confident, don’t worry, there is a supportive bunch of young people in each project, you’ll make new friends and learn more about yourself. It’s a great chance for personal development, you get to connect to more opportunities and organisations through volunteering with Young Scot. Some of the commitments on the projects might seem long winded but when you get to the end, it’s amazing to see the result of all of your hard work, it’s really rewarding.

Carson, 24, Aberdeenshire

I’m currently working in the museum sector and it’s something I’m very passionate about. I was looking for volunteering opportunities in my area and found out about the #HistoricScot project which perfectly aligned with many of my interests.

What really stands out to me from this project so far is the focus on accessibility – the main goal is to make Historic Scotland sites accessible to young people, however, while working as part of this group, we’ve also spoke a lot about accessibility for other groups of people as well. I’ve learned a lot about Historic Scotland as an organisation and it’s all been very helpful knowledge for my career goals. To help me with attending the sessions and take part in the project, I was provided with a laptop, which has made a massive difference in my life. I regularly check Young Scot’s website to look for other opportunities – there is so many ways for young people to get involved and find something that fits their interests and needs. For example, I was able to contribute to the #ThatsNotOkay campaign and share my thoughts on future content.

I’d encourage all young people to take up an opportunity with Young Scot – even if you’re not sure, go for it, you’ll never know if it’s for you unless you try. I’ve met lots of new people and the Young Scot staff and other volunteers have all been incredibly supportive and helpful. Having the experience of volunteering and taking up opportunities with Young Scot will always be respected by others as well when you’ll be applying for jobs or other experiences.

Brynn, 17, Shetlands

My first interaction with Young Scot was when the Content team got in touch with me asking if I’d be interested in writing a blog for #AyeFeel about mental health and the benefits of spending time outdoors. Being outdoors has had such a positive impact on my mental health, and I want others to benefit too. I’ve been doing a lot about mental health previously and thought it would be a good idea to write the blog – it’s a subject that’s so important and lots of people don’t want to touch on – but mental health is so important. Doing this helped me be more confident in my writing as its’ something I’ve never done before.

I was blown away by winning the Young Hero Award at the Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards 2021 for completing my charity challenge and pushing myself in my wheelchair nearly 1,700 miles. Winning the award left me speechless and was an amazing confidence boost…knowing that people were watching and could be inspired by me and what I have done for my community. Thanks to winning the award, my fundraising for Ability Shetland received way more publicity and attention which has been amazing. I couldn’t have done it without my family, friends, Ability Shetland and all my supporters for believing in me and supporting me with everything I do. I’ve gained a real sense of achievement from all the challenges but the main thing for me is that I have been able to give back.

I was also really pleased to be invited to join the Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards judging panel for 2022, helping to pick the winners for each category – it was such a great experience – very hard to make the decisions but everyone’s story was so inspiring and heart-warming.

I’d say that young people should definitely take up the opportunity to get involved with Young Scot – you'll get experiences that you wouldn’t get anywhere else.