{"id":526,"date":"2016-09-01T16:45:29","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T15:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/partnersinlearning\/?p=526"},"modified":"2017-03-24T14:24:59","modified_gmt":"2017-03-24T14:24:59","slug":"ana-garrancho-empowerment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/partnersinlearning\/ana-garrancho-empowerment\/","title":{"rendered":"Ana Garrancho: Using the strategy on a personal level"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ana tells how Partners in learning helped her realise why she was unhappy on her course and how\u00a0the project empowered her to do something about it.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hi, my name is Ana. I am a mature EU student and a student with disabilities.I am currently studying in my 2nd year on a BA in Counselling, Coaching and Mentoring.<\/p>\n

Coming to university was one of the most terrifying and exciting times of my life.<\/p>\n

I did not know English very well when I decided to come to Christ Church.I began to learn English just 5 months before starting this course.\u00a0How crazy was I??<\/p>\n

At the beginning of this year, I was invited to work with the Partners in Learning team, working on the Student Guide to the Learning & Teaching Strategy.<\/p>\n

Although I loved my course and my studies had been going well I sometimes felt an unexplained anxiety.<\/p>\n

It was only during one of our meetings, after I had begun to explore the strategy that I began to understand some of the reasons for my anxiety.<\/p>\n

I was feeling that I didn\u2019t fit in at the University, I did not feel part of a wider community.<\/p>\n

Words like: b<\/strong><\/em>elonging, nurtured, equality, global citizenship, engagement<\/em> <\/strong>\u2026were all very empowering to me.These were all words from the Learning & Teaching strategy.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, I had a better understanding of my position within my course and my place within a community of learners at the University.<\/p>\n

Now I really felt part of something special…I was so excited!!!<\/p>\n

I studied the 9 key principles of the strategy.\u00a0I reflected on them until they made sense to my situation and with the support of some members of the team, I took positive steps to embrace opportunities to get more involved with extra-curricular activities.\u00a0I became a peer-mentor and a student ambassador.\u00a0This has translated outside of the University too, in my many volunteering activities, such as a befriender and a counsellor.<\/p>\n

Phrases like \u201cCultural diversity\u201d had a huge impact on my perception and helped me to feel accepted by the University, by my lecturers and by this amazing team.<\/p>\n

Working with this team, engaging with the University and the learning strategy, have helped me to gain confidence and a determination to succeed.<\/p>\n

I have more power than I thought!<\/p>\n

Ana Garrancho<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ana tells how Partners in learning helped her realise why she was unhappy on her course and how\u00a0the project empowered her to do something about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75942,"featured_media":589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,33],"tags":[53,49,82,22],"class_list":["post-526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning-and-teaching-strategy-student-edition","category-partners-in-learning","tag-canterbury-christ-church","tag-cccu","tag-learning-and-teaching","tag-university"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t