Community Service
Oxfam
For my community service placement I volunteered in the Oxfam charity shop in Bray.
My working hours were 10am to 4pm with an hour break for lunch. Starting on the first day, I wasn't expecting a lot. However, volunteering there made me realise the amount of work put into running these charity shops.
Oxfam recieves many donations from the general public. These often include clothes, books, accessories and much more. What shocked me the most about this was the amount of rubbish that comes into the shop. When going through the clothes they have to be checked if they are of good enough quality to sell in the shop. If the clothes are of good quality they are left on the rack to be steamed. If they are not, they are put into a plastic bag and the clothes are sent to be recycled.
It was very upsetting to see the amount of dirty clothes that come into the shop. So many people donate clothes that can only be put in the bin and I found it really disrespectful. The people who work in these charity shops are volunteers and they end up wasting time going through every item in a bag, only to have to throw them out again.
I really enjoyed my week working in Oxfam. The volunteers working there were very friendly and great company. I feel that working there was a huge eye opener and I am very greatful that I got the opportunity.
My working hours were 10am to 4pm with an hour break for lunch. Starting on the first day, I wasn't expecting a lot. However, volunteering there made me realise the amount of work put into running these charity shops.
Oxfam recieves many donations from the general public. These often include clothes, books, accessories and much more. What shocked me the most about this was the amount of rubbish that comes into the shop. When going through the clothes they have to be checked if they are of good enough quality to sell in the shop. If the clothes are of good quality they are left on the rack to be steamed. If they are not, they are put into a plastic bag and the clothes are sent to be recycled.
It was very upsetting to see the amount of dirty clothes that come into the shop. So many people donate clothes that can only be put in the bin and I found it really disrespectful. The people who work in these charity shops are volunteers and they end up wasting time going through every item in a bag, only to have to throw them out again.
I really enjoyed my week working in Oxfam. The volunteers working there were very friendly and great company. I feel that working there was a huge eye opener and I am very greatful that I got the opportunity.
Work Experience - Week 1
SMS Consultants
Monday - Pig Farm
For my first day of work experience we headed down to Limerick to Hanrahan Farm Ltd. Here we spent the first hour talking to John Hanrahan about the business, production of pig farming and where money can be saved. Afterwards we were brought around the piggery and shown the different stages of pig farming. Hanrahan Farm Ltd. is one of the top farms in Ireland because of its advanced technology and hygiene ethics. Being on the pig farm was a great experience. I witnessed little piglets being born while also learning about the process our meat goes through before arriving on our store shelves.
Tuesday - Enterprise Ireland & Applegreen
The next day we headed to the Applegreen offices where I sat in on a meeting. During this meeting we discussed our product with the head of sales and talked about getting our product on the shelves in their stores. Later, we headed to Enterprise Ireland to discuss the product in another meeting there.
Unfortunately, it began to snow heavily over the next couple of days and I was unable to complete my week of work experience.
For my first day of work experience we headed down to Limerick to Hanrahan Farm Ltd. Here we spent the first hour talking to John Hanrahan about the business, production of pig farming and where money can be saved. Afterwards we were brought around the piggery and shown the different stages of pig farming. Hanrahan Farm Ltd. is one of the top farms in Ireland because of its advanced technology and hygiene ethics. Being on the pig farm was a great experience. I witnessed little piglets being born while also learning about the process our meat goes through before arriving on our store shelves.
Tuesday - Enterprise Ireland & Applegreen
The next day we headed to the Applegreen offices where I sat in on a meeting. During this meeting we discussed our product with the head of sales and talked about getting our product on the shelves in their stores. Later, we headed to Enterprise Ireland to discuss the product in another meeting there.
Unfortunately, it began to snow heavily over the next couple of days and I was unable to complete my week of work experience.
Work Experience - Week 2
Law
For my final week of work experience I had organised to work with my friend's dad Michael O'Higgins who is a barrister. I was really looking forward to the week as I am strongly considering studying law in university.
On the first day we headed to Dublin Castle where I sat in on the tribunal for the Gardaí Whistleblowers Case. Michael gave me a brief summary of the case before hand so I would have a better idea of what was going on. I really enjoyed the case and found it really interesting (though I did find myself getting a little lost at times). On the Tuesday morning we headed back to the tribunal and after lunch I headed to the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ). Michael had set me up with a girl called Amy who is currently doing her devilling year with a senior barrister.
Amy showed me around the CCJ and explained how everything worked. She kept m informed on what interesting trials were on that I could watch. I needed up following a murder case that was on retrial for the week. The murder trial constantly had me on the edge of my seat and was really intriguing.
Amy was extremely helpful and I found working with her really beneficial. She gave me advise on university and what benefits come with studying law.
I really enjoyed my week of work experience and everyone I worked with was super friendly. Both Michael and Amy did a fantastic job at helping me understand the life of a barrister and the amount of work that is involved. Although I haven't made up my mind if law is the way to go, the week certainly gave me a better understanding and some insight to what it may be like as a career.
On the first day we headed to Dublin Castle where I sat in on the tribunal for the Gardaí Whistleblowers Case. Michael gave me a brief summary of the case before hand so I would have a better idea of what was going on. I really enjoyed the case and found it really interesting (though I did find myself getting a little lost at times). On the Tuesday morning we headed back to the tribunal and after lunch I headed to the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ). Michael had set me up with a girl called Amy who is currently doing her devilling year with a senior barrister.
Amy showed me around the CCJ and explained how everything worked. She kept m informed on what interesting trials were on that I could watch. I needed up following a murder case that was on retrial for the week. The murder trial constantly had me on the edge of my seat and was really intriguing.
Amy was extremely helpful and I found working with her really beneficial. She gave me advise on university and what benefits come with studying law.
I really enjoyed my week of work experience and everyone I worked with was super friendly. Both Michael and Amy did a fantastic job at helping me understand the life of a barrister and the amount of work that is involved. Although I haven't made up my mind if law is the way to go, the week certainly gave me a better understanding and some insight to what it may be like as a career.