17 Feb 2017
To mark Student Volunteering Week, Student Paramedic Alex Grant, tells us about volunteering for London's Air Ambulance as a photographer and speaker.
"I decided to volunteer for London's Air Ambulance because I feel very passionately about pre-hospital trauma care. As a Student Paramedic at Anglia Ruskin University, my frontline placements are with the London Ambulance Service so this has inspired me to volunteer for London's Air Ambulance.
As a volunteer, I mainly support as a photographer for events which has given me the opportunity to visit the helipad and photograph events such as the Parliamentary Reception at the House of Commons. I have also recently become a volunteer speaker which involves visiting local community groups to tell them about the charity.
I enjoy volunteering because I enjoy meeting and collaborating with such a diverse group of individuals, including charity staff, and doctors and paramedics who have pioneered new life-saving surgical procedures. Alongside this I enjoy volunteering because of the incredibly supportive feedback I've received from my talks by the audience, which reinforces why I joined in the first place.
As a student, choosing to volunteer for London's Air Ambulance has not only opened up plenty of amazing opportunities, but has also given me transferable skills that I am able to take away with me. The communication and team-working skills required to collaborate with the staff and public has enabled me to develop as an individual, and has certainly strengthened my preparedness for future employment.
The advice I would give to other students thinking about volunteering is to sign up! London’s Air Ambulance is such a great charity to be a part of and you will not regret the decision. As long as you prioritise your studies, the volunteering can be a relaxing and worthwhile activity that is so rewarding."