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Taking the leap, overcoming anxieties and gaining confidence are three things that Jodie Brookes accomplished when she decided to embark on a journey with Heart of Worcestershire (HoW) College. Fast forward a few years and she is now flourishing in a job that has meant she never looked back. But how did she get here?

As a child, Jodie attended a small independent school with class sizes as low as two from years 4 - 11 as she suffered with anxiety; this meant she never made the transition to high school and so taking the leap to college was huge. But she took her future into her own hands and enrolled onto a travel and tourism course at the College’s Worcester campus whilst also retaking her maths and English GCSEs with the College.

During her time at college, Jodie became more confident in herself, made lots of new friends, learnt not to doubt herself and she gained the skills to understand how to deal with things on the spot instead of stressing about them. Jodie also managed to achieve her maths and English GCSEs first time, with the support offered to her from the College’s teams.

So, where is Jodie now?

Jodie left college at the beginning of her third year and moved on to a Level 3 apprenticeship in Events and Hospitality. Unfortunately, this began when the UK went into lockdown, so all her assignments were completed online. She then gained a full-time position doing events at the end of lockdown and hasn’t looked back since.

Jodie now works as an Events Assistant where she helps set up and break down events, supports meetings and provides tea and coffee for the events that require it. Jodie's confidence has grown through this job, and she loves the atmosphere of the role with her favourite parts being ensuring everyone has a smooth event. Jodie’s travel and tourism course taught her the importance of quick thinking, which has helped within this role as being able to think on the spot helps with any problems in her day-to-day work.

Looking back on her time at college, Jodie said:

“When I joined HoW College my anxiety was bad, however HoW helped me with the transition and helped me settle in and I did so well, my tutors helped me and supported me through this transition and without HoW I wouldn't be where I am today.”

Jodie’s journey demonstrates to us that overcoming your own personal boundaries is the first step to gaining confidence and being able to push yourself to do a role that you have a passion for. From being in class sizes of sometimes only two, to planning a range of events, Jodie has pushed herself and been able to put her transferable skills, knowledge and capabilities into a job she loves.