Stephanie is a local UCL student and found out about our volunteering opportunities at HCA via the UCL Student Union website.  

“I am a volunteer admin assistant to Elly the Marketing Co-ordinator at HCA and I have been volunteering a few months now since March 2019 for half a day a week.   

I am currently studying a postgraduate Pharmaceutics at UCL and wanted to gain experience in marketing and communications.  English is my second language and I thought getting real-life experience was a good idea! It appealed to me giving back to a local charity as my major is related to health care.  I liked the idea of helping to promote HCA’s activities and sessions for all ages.

I have learnt different skills in the office like sending emails, scanning, data entry and how to answer the phone.  I also published Facebook events which was interesting as we don’t have Facebook in China. It was a new experience for me to learn about the UK’s social media platforms. 

It’s been nice working in an office with different types of people and having real-life challenges to solve – when I am studying I am just learning information.  Here I have learnt to pay attention to detail and to use my initiative to find a solution to a problem, like when I am trying to work the scanner!

I studied my undergraduate in Beijing which is a much bigger city than London.  I really enjoy the city and its architecture and being able to visit Europe so easily.  I love going to the theatre and musicals too. Although I still like eating in Chinatown sometimes to remind me of home!”   

If you are a UCL student head to the Student Unions’ website for more info on volunteering or click here to discover more volunteering opportunities at HCA.