Blog: Transition Year Work Experience

Saoirse reviews her Transition Year Work Experience in the ISSU Office.

Every Wednesday from April 6th to May 11th this year I worked in the ISSU office in Liberty Hall as part of my Transition Year work experience. During my time in the ISSU office I got to do a wide range of administration and secretarial work which I found very interesting and beneficial. I worked closely with the ISSU's General Secretary, Rebecca Dempsey, along with members of the NSE (National Student Executive).Walking up to Liberty Hall on the first day I was unsure of what to expect. I didn't know a lot about the work that the ISSU and National Student Executive did on a daily basis. I signed in at the front desk of Liberty Hall and was told to go to the 9th floor where the ISSU office is located. As I opened up the door to the office, I was greeted with a friendly and welcoming hello from Rebecca. I was first brought to the desk that I would be working at for the following few weeks, then I got a tour of the office and was given a brief but informative overview of what work was done in the ISSU and the type of work that I would be involved in.From the first day I completed many different types of office work and I personally found that my computer skills were developed greatly. I developed my computer skills by using the various databases, using Excel to make tables, and using Microsoft word to write blogs and creating lists. Other work included typing, printing and sending letters out to Student Councils throughout the country, and proof reading letters and documents. One of my main tasks whilst working in the ISSU was writing a blog piece. I really enjoyed writing my blog piece on the topic of the Junior Certificate as it was something different that I had never done before and I also enjoyed hearing feedback from people who had read my blog and had taken something useful from it.Writing the blog was one of them things that I only expected to be a small project but it turned out to be something much more. The blog was not only on the ISSU website but SpunOut.ie posted it on their page and have asked me to write for them again. In addition to that, my school uploaded it onto the school website where it got lots of attention from exam students. Because of this, I have been asked to tutor many Junior Cert students in a number of different subjects. If I wasn't asked by Rebecca to write the blog piece, none of these opportunities would have been opened up to me. That's why I think Transition Year is a great course to take part in, so many opportunities are opened up to you that you never thought would be.I learned so much from working in the ISSU and out of all the places I did my work experience in this year, the ISSU was no doubt one of my favourites. The people involved in the ISSU are some of the nicest people I have ever met, especially Rebecca who I worked closely with. I felt so comfortable working and talking with them. I was only in the ISSU for 6 weeks but in that short space of time I learned so much and developed as a person.I would definitely recommend working in or with the ISSU for work experience next year or any year after that to Transition Year students. You'll learn a lot of valuable skills and get to work in a new environment with lovely people. It was sad to leave the ISSU as I finished my work experience module but I've gained so much from it and would definitely work with them again if the  if the opportunity came up.Note: Saoirse attends Ashbourne School in Ashbourne Co. Meath. You can read her article on getting through the Junior Cert here: http://issu.ie/2016/05/one-year-junior-cert/Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie