How I Built Confidence and Self-Esteem
Author: Annabel Livesey
Annabel has helped many young people to gain their confidence in academics and is now a starting her career as a student at Teesside University.
Anxious about your gap year? So was Annabel. Formerly a self-confessed “worrier”, her year of tutoring gave her a confidence she wouldn’t have believed in. Now, she is studying Diagnostic Radiography at Teesside University. Here’s how Annabel became the kind of person to step forward out of the crowd:
What should you do on your gap year?
The first thing I would like to say is that Yipiyap is an awesome way to spend your gap year. I have completed my gap year at Yipiyap and I’m leaving with a new, unique set of skills and stories that will stay with me forever. Everybody I’ve met; whether it was in an email chain or people I talk with every day, have inspired me in one way or another and have been friendly and helpful. Plus, every university open day I’ve been to, the teachers loved the fact I took a gap year and spent it working as it gives you real-life skills.
From the very beginning Yipiyap was a welcoming place. The application was so simple to work through and the interview process was much less stressful than other interviews I’ve had. I’d even go so far as to say I enjoyed the interviews (and I’m a natural stress-head so interviews are never ‘fun’ to me).
“If I went back and told the version of me at that first meeting that I was actually offering to speak I think she’d go into shock! ”
Training and Support offered at Yipiyap
Before starting my placement, I got a week of training and had a meeting with my Regional Director and everyone else under her leadership which was a nice way to meet new people on the same path who also had the same concerns as me. Like I said earlier, I’m a worrier, so I had a million questions in my head such as:
· How many students will I have?
· What topics am I expected to cover?
· What do I do if I encounter any learner behavioural issues? etc…
And at the meeting all of these questions were answered, and it turned out almost everyone else in the room had the same questions, so I was stressing out for no reason!
Another thing I’ve found from my time at Yipiyap is how empowering it is. The founder and CEO of Yipiyap, Anne Morris, is so involved in Yipiyap and the story of why she formed Yipiyap and how rapidly it’s all grown is truly inspiring. Plus, considering how many people she has in her staff from Project Coordinators to Regional Directors, to Senior Tutors, to just Yipiyaps (which is where I’ve spent the year) it still felt like she really cared about what I’m getting up to.
Plus, my Regional Director, Snezana, is the most caring manager I’ve ever had. She checks on me all the time. During odd times, when I have had issues with attendance or work getting on top of me, she happily listens to me and gives me great advice to fix the problems. I’ll always be grateful to her for that. Also, during my placement, I’ve had a couple of questions about workload and similar issues, and Dom, Conor; Project Coordinators and Jasper, my senior Tutor have been amazing with me. Every question I ask gets three replies all giving me different yet helpful advice.
“Another thing I’ve found from my time at Yipiyap is how empowering it is.”
My gap-year experience
Now onto the actual job, there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing the moment a student finally understands something they’ve been struggling with. Something I’ll never forget is that I’ve had one student since my first day working for Yipiyap and we’d spent four weeks going over just the sine rule and he was getting so frustrated that he couldn’t do it and he was saying that we should just move onto a different topic because he was never going to understand, but I kept pushing him to work through questions with me every week and then on week 5 I gave him a question and he got it on his own and he was absolutely thrilled. He thanked me so many times and he looked so happy and now the odd time I give him a question on sine rule he can answer it.
Given I was so worried about dealing with bad behaviour I’ve only had one issue all year and while it wasn’t nice to go through at the time, after the session I fed back to the relevant people, it was dealt with immediately and I never had to deal with it again. Every other student has wanted to be there and has worked really hard every session. Plus, that one bad session taught me a lot about myself and showed me that it’s okay to ask for help when you need it.
My time with Yipiyap has taught me patience, time management, refreshed my GCSE maths skills and has made me a much more confident person. In my first meeting that I mention above I was very quiet and tended to let other people do the talking as much as I could but in our recent Easter training, I volunteered myself to answer questions first, and if I went back and told the version of me at that first meeting that I was actually offering to speak I think she’d go into shock!
Now I’ve written far too much so I’d like to end by just again saying how grateful I am for this experience, the people I’ve met and all the skills it’s given me that I’m going to take with me to university in September.
Thank you Yipiyap!
At Yipiyap, the transformation tutors undergo throughout their time with us goes beyond just boosting their confidence – it's a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. We pride ourselves on offering flexibility that encourages tutors to explore their passions and embrace life to the fullest. You can read here about our ex-tutor and a triumphant triple jumper, Melissa who during her time with us has even gone to represent our country at international competitions and also secured many medals! Also, there’s Jay, our ex-tutor and a drag queen who performed drag at many events including Birmingham Pride 2023. With Yipiyap, it's not just about tutoring; it's about unleashing the full spectrum of your potential.