Senior Club member, Shanay, has been training with Snow Camp since last year. Snow Camp are a national snowsports youth charity working with young people across the UK. In 2019, 93% of their young people who completed their programmes moved on to either employment, education or further training. 92% gained 1 or more new qualifications and 87% said that they now feel more confident and able to take on new challenges.
We caught up with Shanay who since beginning her training with Snow Camp, qualified at First Tracks, completed the Graduate Course and has recently completed the Excel Youth Instructor course.
- Tell us about yourself
My name is Shanay, I’m 16 and I’ve been a member at Hideout since it’s has started (September 2020!)
- Why did you join HideOut?
I joined HideOut as a member because I wanted more of a social life and to explore different opportunities that there are at the Youth Zone.
- Tell us a bit about the Snow Camp project?
Snow Camp is a programme based at the Chill Factore near the Trafford Centre, and it basically gives you the opportunity to become a Skiing Instructor and gives you the opportunity to take a trip ski or snowboard in the mountains- for me that was Italy! The camp trains you up so that you’re an intermediate skier at the very least which is also great.
- What made you sign up for the project?
I decided to sign up for the project mainly to meet new people and to learn a new skill, but to also gain more knowledge about the snow world and to open up opportunities around me.
- What was the highlight of your trip?
I think that one of my highlights at Snow Camp was going to Italy and experiencing what it is like to ski on mountains and glaciers! It was amazing to meet new people that are just like me and to ski with them, building up new friendships and new skills. The views in Italy were amazing and it made me think that there are so many opportunities around me.
- What have you learned about yourself?
A challenge that I faced and overcame was having the confidence to speak and trust new people in order to ski down slopes – whether that was at Chill Factore, or in Italy. It was very hard at first but knowing that the people I was with were feeling the same way gave me confidence – I knew that I wasn’t alone in the situation. Another challenge I faced was knowing never to give up even when I was in pain. I feel that I could’ve easily given up and stopped coming, but I didn’t, and I feel that it’s because the northwest team supported me during the journey!
- What advice would you give to other young people considering getting involved in projects?
At first, I really thought that I wouldn’t be able to ski within the amount of time I had, but honestly, anything is possible if you put your mind to it. And now I’ve actually completed the course, I will be able to make that possible for others too! Now I’m at the end of the course, I’m actually so proud of myself and my team for sticking to the end! So, my advice to people that want to join projects is: Do it! You may not know what you’re signing up too, but you will enjoy it in the end and there are many opportunities that come with the project!
Senior Club member, Shanay.
