Blog: Jessica Swan
As soon as I entered the City Year office I found myself in a welcoming and open environment. Throughout Basic Training Academy (BTA), everyone was willing to share so much about themselves. We’d all just met and yet we were still willing to collaborate in creating short cheesy dramatic pieces or ‘skits’ to show our peers. We were all really willing to throw ourselves into the various training activities, as well as City Year as a whole. Almost immediately, the ice was broken and relationships began to form. I’ve never experienced anything like it in my working life.
PT cram has to be one the things I remember most from BTA. It proved that even in public all the new corps members had thrown away their inhibitions and allowed themselves to nuzzle into the big red jackets (metaphorically, not just because it was cold). It was hilarious. It reminded me somewhat of my days in air cadets, except as cadets we’d have been disciplined because of the constant giggling. My tokens from that session are the bruises on my thighs, the result of passionate power lunges. I am sure we’ve all experienced that at City Year.
The first week in at Evelyn Grace Academy started off a little bit rocky. We are a brand new team in a brand new school, although I feel that we’re beginning to find our feet now. Strangely it feels as if we’ve been a team for much longer than 3 weeks. This is incredibly positive and I know that Team Pride will experience an array of positive outcomes over the next 7 months.
