Natasha Weller’s Post

I'm in Metro.co.uk today, sharing my experience of being an estranged student. Why? I was, and remain, frustrated at the lack of awareness of and support for students who are estranged or care experienced (EaCE). If you don't know what estranged and care experienced means - don't worry! You're not alone. Estranged students are those without parental support networks in university, and care experienced students are those who have spent time in the care system. And did you know EaCE students are considerably less likely to go to university, considerably less likely to get a 2.1, and considerably more likely to drop out, than the average student? There is little acknowledgement or support available despite this - particularly additional financial support. With most EaCE students citing financial worry as a primary factor in driving anxiety and stress at university, pushing some to work full-time on top of their degrees, it's time something is done about this. That's why I'm excited to share I'm launching Safety Net HE, a (soon to be) charity which will work with the private sector to provide grants and careers support to EaCE students. If you want to learn more, you can read Safety Net HE's launch document here: https://lnkd.in/eitvb4d4 This is, of course, early days - and I need your help to make Safety Net HE work. So, I have three asks: 1) If you're a representative of a company which recruits graduates, and may be interested in partnering with Safety Net HE, please fill out this form: https://lnkd.in/epDPMyG5 2) If you're interested in volunteering for Safety Net HE, particularly if you're an experienced trustee, or have experience with videography or social media content creation, please let me know by filling out this form: https://lnkd.in/eBsHFx35 3) Finally, if you want to help but can't help with either of the above, (and this is a shameless ask) please react to, interact with, and re-post this, so that a larger audience can learn about EaCE student's experiences, and those who can express an interest partnership or volunteer are more likely to see this post. Please also give Safety Net HE a follow on here! EaCE students are victims of circumstance; some of us survived abuse, others parents passed away, some are disowned for being LGBT+, others aged out of the care system - to name just a few common EaCE experiences. It's immensely difficult to even get to university from this position. That so many are struggling to get by after working harder than most to get there is unacceptable. I hope Safety Net HE can start to bring about the change that is desperately needed. https://lnkd.in/eHgcgbJA

So…I did it! What a great experience in Coimbra last week, from all the race build up and multisport festival atmosphere, to the GB team photo, to the race itself. Thank you so much for all the support and love I received on here. I did myself proud by finishing in a new personal best (shaving off over 22 minutes) for 70.3 distance of 4 hours 48 minutes and 34 seconds, finishing 26th in my age category and just outside the top 30% overall. First of all thank you to my wife Natasha Weller for putting up with my obsession, especially this last month leading up. Your love and support has as always been amazing ❤️ Thank you to my sponsors AI Endurance and Orange Cyberdefense. I wouldn’t be there without you, and in the case of AI Endurance, I certainly wouldn’t have got anywhere near that time! I’ll be reflecting on the race and my time optimization and some of the results I managed to achieve in the coming weeks so look out for more blogs about fitting your sports into your busy lifestyle. Thanks to British Triathlon Federation for the support as well, from the general advice to the team managers out there (who dealt with many a question, however dumb it was 😂) and shout out to Mark, the mechanic who got my Di2 gears working again - in fact he didn’t just fix the problem he went a bit further and got everything working as good as he could in a short time. Never give up on your dreams folks. #agegrouper #europeanchampionships #triathlon #positiveattitude

The #1 reason you aren't creating the kind of change that you want in your career right now is that you aren't taking yourself seriously enough. I don't mean you aren't a serious person, rather, I mean that you are not yet prioritising the kind of time and focused attention you need to put in to create that change. You might be doing lots of thinking or taking passive action but you're not REALLY giving yourself a good enough chance by taking action. And I get it. I remember sobbing into my husband's suit jacket on the concourse of London Bridge station about 9 years ago because I hated my job and I wanted to leave but I was feeling scared and didn't know how to move forward. 2 jobs and a business and a self-belief specialism later and I can tell you that I've figured it out. I know what the steps are to move forward. Here's what the steps are: 💡 commit time to focus on it. Around an hour a week is enough for most people 💡 spend time cultivating better beliefs about yourself and what you're capable of 💡build a compelling vision for yourself of where you want to get to 💡figure out the actions that will get you there 💡take the actions. If you struggle to make the time, or if you don't know how to cultivate new beliefs, or if you aren't sure which actions will make the difference, join Natasha Weller and I in FutureFinders. We'll meet as a group every fortnight on a Thursday lunchtime, we'll lead you through the steps you'll need and help you create that change for yourself. By January 2025 you'll either have a new job or a really clear vision of what you want and a solid plan to get you the rest of the way. The doors to FutureFinders are now OPEN! and you can find the link to all the details by clicking the 'Visit my website' button by my name or drop me a message if you want to have a chat. We're starting on 8th July with a welcome call and we would love to see you there! The kind of change you want to create is totally possible for you. I know because I've supported loads of clients to create their own changes and it's no different for you. #highereducation #careerchange #newjob