bOunceT hires 'fantastic 4' new interns from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)!

We previously hinted that we were growing our team here at bOunceT in our ‘New Year, New Office!‘ blog post. We feel that after giving them some time to settle in, now is the perfect time to introduce them to you. They have all come from Glasgow Caledonian University and we are excited for you to meet them!

Our new interns; Shai (top left), Julia (top right), Nadia (bottom left), Naomi (bottom right)

Shai Saunders (Marketing, Social Media & Communications Officer)

Shai’s diverse internship experience made him the perfect candidate to take bOunceT forward as a brand. He has experience in the events sector, which showed him the value of working closely within a team and working together in order to achieve their goals. He also interned for an amateur football team, displaying the important role smaller organisations play within their local communities. This experience really influenced him wanting to work with us, as he saw the role we play in the community and our ability to innovate in the Occupational Therapy sector.

Learn more about Shai here – Staff Stories: SHAI

After seeing the job advertised and looking into the organisation’s history I knew I wanted to work here! I believe this internship will not only give me the tools I need to be a better marketer, it will also give me the same life perspective that my volunteer opportunity gave me. Seeing the work that Callum and the team do is inspiring and to see someone create a business at such a young age is something that I definitely want to learn from. It will mold into a more thoughtful person with the necessary tools to further prosper in the marketing world.

Naomi Youngman (Play Resource Officer)

Naomi is a face you may already know, beginning her time with us in the summer of 2019 during a placement as part of her MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) course. During the summer of 2020 she began working with us as a Play Assistant and played a pivotal role in ensuring things kept running at bOunceT during lockdown. Now that she has graduated from her MSc, we are delighted to have her back in the team full-time. It is easy to see why she is so popular with families – her attitude and values perfectly fits in with our company ethos and she will continue to help build our organisation.

“What struck me most about bOunceT was the person-centered nature of their practice; this is a company that really values and listens to the perspectives of parents and carers. I also appreciated how much effort went into creating enjoyable and engaging play experiences for the service users. Seeing such clear links between theory and practice made me keen to be part of a service that truly keeps occupational therapy values at its core and provides such inclusive opportunities for meaningful play.
I hope that I can adapt to this new role and combine what I have learned from talking to families with my skills acquired through my degree, to create some valuable resources that can provide some fun play experiences for people accessing our service.”

Nadia Maduschke (Play Resource Officer)

Nadia recently graduated from GCU with an honours degree in BSc Occupational Therapy, having completed a variety of placements and learning experiences during her time at university. Nadia’s first placement in Occupational Therapy was working in the acute older adult service and was able to expand her experience by completing a different placement in a paediatrics clinic. This provided her experiences of working with carers, families, and schools which gave her the opportunity to develop relationships with these groups. This made her a great candidate for bOunceT as this experience is vital to how we operate as an innovative Occupational Therapy service. We can’t wait to have her on board and she is just as excited to work with us!

“I am excited to begin my role as a Play Resource Officer at bOunceT and gain post-grad experience working in a play-based, occupation-focused environment. I am looking forward to learning more about working for a social enterprise and the unique opportunities to learn and develop that come with working for an innovative business.
I hope to gain clinical experience as well as build my skills considering activities-based interventions and how these can be implemented for therapy at home or in remote environments.”

Julia Wilson (Play Resource Officer)

Julia took her undergraduate BSc degree in Human Kinetics at St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Canada. During that time she assisted a professor in leading the Motor Activities at X program. Her placement experiences during her MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) course was largely in the community setting. She was first placed on a local authority Community Rehabilitation Team where she gained an understanding of adapting the environment through housing recommendations and equipment provision. Her following placement was at the NHS homeless health centre which was an incredibly unique and eye-opening experience with a variety of client groups. And her final placement was in Canada within an outpatient community mental health team. This wide array of experiences will prove to be beneficial to staff’ and service progression at bOunceT.

Interestingly, Julia will be working with us all the way from the safe comfort of her home in Canada! This will be an opportunity for the team to really learn new ways of working as we all navigate technology, socially distanced working – and now a 4-5 hour time zone difference!

Julia tells us what is looking forward to about her internship with us:

“It’s hard to pick what I am most looking forward to! I can’t wait to get to know the team and meet the bOunceT community. I’m excited for the opportunity to create resources that empower engagement in play activities with physical, social, and sensory benefits. I am happy to have a part in supporting family wellbeing amidst the pandemic.
My goal for my time with bOunceT is to build on my understanding of play as an occupation and explore innovative approaches to practice. I hope to learn more about sensory integration and inclusive environments. I have no doubt this experience will help develop the necessary skills to begin my career in occupational therapy!”

We are very thankful to have been lucky enough to receive part-funding from Glasgow Caledonian University to make many of these internships possible. Dr Katrina Bannigan & Donna Cooper from GCU share their thoughts about this opportunity for their students here:

“I am absolutely delighted that three of our graduates have chosen to work with bOunceT for their first role on graduation. This is testimony to the innovative practice offered by bOunceT that means these are attractive posts but also recognition that the opportunities for careers in occupational therapy are varied and that GCU is preparing graduates to work in pioneering areas of practice.”
Dr. Katrina Bannigan
Head of Occupational Therapy and Human Nutrition and Dietetics at Glasgow Caledonian University

“GCU Careers and Alumni recognised that 2020 graduates faced one of the most challenging and uncertain job markets on record. We set up the internship programme, thanks to the generosity of Sir Alex Ferguson, to help give our new graduates the best possible chance of gaining relevant industry experience to strengthen their long-term career prospects.
bOunceT recruited some of our top graduates and did not let us down. The company has provided a range of outstanding internships that will challenge the graduates and equip them with the skills, resilience, and industry experience required to progress in their careers with confidence.”
Donna Cooper
Peer Support and Employability Specialist Adviser at Glasgow Caledonian University

The future is very bright for us here at bOunceT because we get to have input from these passionate, engaging and specialist graduates! Furthermore, we hope the future will be just as bright for our ‘Fantastic 4’ interns as we want them to learn and grow a lot from their experiences working here with our inspiring families and other beneficiaries who access our services.

We have always strived to be an integral part of nurturing and developing future Occupational Therapy leaders – this has been evident by our regular intake of students on placement at bOunceT, since 2018. Despite nationwide lockdowns and other somewhat-endless challenges we face with COVID-19, we have kept offering the same number of placement opportunities (if not more!) to students from universities across Scotland. Interestingly, now we are partnering with the Occupational Therapy team at University of Brighton to offer fully-online and remote working placements for their students.

So, that is all for now, but we will get our Fantastic 4 to introduce themselves and get tweeting/blogging/etc very soon!

#ValueofOT