A healthy balance of exuberant playfulness between calls, and enthusiastic professionalism during th
I am four call shifts in to my first, and Trinity Hall's fourteenth, telephone campaign. Learning about what exactly the Trinity Hall Fund supports, before interview and throughout training, has been crucial in helping me to do this job - as Student Support and Access and Outreach are really important causes I actually care about. I don't have to fake the passion behind my chat about the fund projects during the calls. It is especially rewarding when an alumnus at the other end of the phone takes a genuine interest in the projects and understands just why it is we are running the telethon, regardless of whether or not they are in a position to donate. James and Emma have worked to keep the atmosphere in the call room positive - we try for a healthy balance of exuberent playfulness between calls, and enthusiastic professionalism during them. And of course James and Emma are there to readress that balance when it occasionally slips too far towards the former. It turns out I might be better at the morale-directed games we play on shift than I am at my actual job as I have walked away victorious from both the Kitty Cannon and Google Feud games (don't ask).
But I have also had some varied and interesting conversations with alumni. I have received some sincere and helpful advice about work, life and travel, and am feeling a bit less scared to graduate and move into the world beyond university. Hearing about the scope of careers alumni have gone into, particularly the slightly more unusual career paths, has led me to actually consider avenues I might not otherwise have thought about. After positive reports, I find myself thinking about trying out living in London, carrying on with higher education, applying for companies that previously completely intimidated me. It is just great to be reminded that I have options! I'm now gearing up for my first late night overseas call session. Fingers crossed the delerium only sets in once we finish at 2am!
