The Heart of Bucks ‘Inspiring Buckinghamshire’ series gives local people from a range of sectors a chance to share their knowledge and insights to help inspire others.
Tell us about yourself and your connection to Buckinghamshire.
I am currently a Community Health Officer at Wycombe Wanderers Sports and Education Trust, I live in the High Wycombe area, and spent a large portion of my life growing up in this area.
I currently coach a Ladies Football team (Sunday league) in my spare time, and my interests involve going to the gym, watching football matches (Wycombe Wanderers) and spending time with my family and friends.
What personal achievements are you most proud of?
Recently I have been awarded with an award from Community Impact Bucks, called ‘Young Charity Woman of the year’. This is an amazing achievement for me, as I have worked very hard and gone through personal struggles and triumphs that have helped me to become who I am today, and now I am able to give the community support and help through projects such as Mental health recovery projects, Fitness sessions, Healthy Lifestyles projects, befriending services and physical activity sessions for people living with Disabilities.
The award has filled me with great joy, as it has shown me that I am making an impact in my local community to those who need it, and that I have been able to make a long lasting impression on those who may see me as a role model due to the line of work that I am in.
What are some of the challenges you have faced and how have you overcome them?
I have faced various challenges throughout my life, such as injuries that have stopped me playing sport or being able to be physically active for a period of time, mental health issues which have made me lose interest in elements of my life and have made tasks a lot harder to complete, and then other general challenges that are normally part of growing up and finding yourself.
I believe that when it comes to challenges, I have always been a very forward person, and I am always willing to face a challenge head on. I will seek help and guidance when it is needed, I will look for support, and I will also use my initiative and my fiery passion to help drive me through the challenge I might currently be facing.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The best piece of advice I have ever received is: You can only control your actions, or your reactions. This piece of advice strongly resonates with me, because sometimes you can be faced with a challenge that you might not actually have a lot of control over.
If I come across challenging or hard behaviours from others, I always remind myself that I cannot change how they are acting, what they are saying, or what they might do. But what I can change, is what I do, and how I react to this situation.
This has definitely benefited me in all aspects of my life as it means that I am able to determine whether challenges are solvable or worth solving, and it has also taught me a lot of patience and kindness because it means that I hold myself accountable for whatever steps I next take when in any sort of situation, as all I can control is my actions and my reactions.
What is your greatest hope for the future for Buckinghamshire?
My greatest hope for Buckinghamshire is that it keeps churning out amazing work and that everyone keeps coming together as a community. Through my line of work I have had the lucky opportunity to be able to support members of the community, but I have also had the chance to see many other organisations and individuals doing the same. It really does make a difference to the community we live in, and I hope that this type of work carries on and continues to grow and get stronger, and I hope more people get involved with work that benefits the community.
I also hope that more awards get won for the county of Buckinghamshire, because there are so many worthy candidates within this area who do such amazing work.
