Verity

About Me

I was a St Albans Cathedral Choirister for 5 years. I rehearsed five times a week, before and after school and at weekends. It was hard balancing school and choir. But I stuck with it, and as a result learnt the importance of being organised, on time and committed. I made sure my school bags were packed the night before, set off from school in time for rehearsals and always made the effort so I did not let anyone down. Being a chorister shaped me; I hate being late, value being part of a team and the importance of practice. Highlights as a chorister included performing at the Royal Albert Hall, on Radio 3 and recording a CD.

As a History and Politics student I’m interested in public policy. I also did a work placement at Leicester University Innovation Hub. Both have stimulated my interest in a career in the Civil Service which I see in my future.

I have a Gold Duke of Edinburgh award. The best part of the awards were the expeditions. As well as a fitness test, they taught me team work. On each expedition we were split into different teams. We were tasked with creating routes and assigning team roles. The expeditions were challenging as two of them were in stormy weather. This led to inter-team tensions as we lost our way and some colleagues lost heart in the cold and wet. I played the constructive peace-maker, making sure we all stuck together, set and achieved short term goals so that we finished successfully. I did that by staying positive, not taking sides and waiting for team members who were struggling. That taught me that communicating is as much about listening as it is having the loudest voice.

At Sheffield I joined the University Rowing Club as a novice. I wanted to learn a new skill and hadn’t had the chance to row before. As it is a challenging endurance sport, I have learnt to push myself mentally and physically as part of a cohesive crew.

This year I’ve developed new skills as a cox. I’ve coxed winning crews at the university (Durham Regatta) and in the Cambridge Town Bumps. As I’m now considered the leader of the boat, I’ve taken the initiative to direct and coach the novices. At first I found this challenging as I was quite passive and focused on my rowing. But I realised as I am responsible for crew safety I must effectively communicate with them. Being a novice myself helps me to establish empathy when coxing. Alongside clearly communicating with the crew, I’ve also listened and learnt from their experience: navigating the River Cam is tricky and, while retaining authority during the race, I took on board feedback By remaining calm and relaxed I’ve developed my technical skills, communication and influencing skills. I was delighted to be awarded University RC Novice Cox of the Year in recognition of this.