Off to 'The Big Smoke'

My name is Bradley. I have done the 26-week traineeship with Homebaked Community Land Trust and Rotunda College. I am 18 years old. I grew up in Aintree and moved to Kirkdale at the age of 14. When I applied for the traineeship I had been working in a lot of different industries, like business admin, HR and in the end, I found myself stuck in a dead-end bar job. I am quite academic when I put my head to it, but at school I found myself feeling very dis-interested after my parents split and relocating to an area which felt sort of foreign to me at the time. As a result of all this my GCSEs weren't very good which limited my opportunities for further education.

I started volunteering at a family business, Lady Justice UK when I left school. For me, this was where everything really began. I was taught everything I needed to know about the world of work and the link between employability and volunteering. This placement was a key turning point for me.

I then started volunteering at Liverpool Homeless Football Club, where I met another volunteer Angela McKay, who also works at Homebaked and recommended the new project starting there. She thought it would be a great opportunity for me to find out what I love and kick start a career. I applied and after an intense interview process was chosen as one of three trainees.

I loved my time with Homebaked. First of all I learnt straight construction skills and then working with the principal designer I realized that I have ideas in my head that I can communicate through something I design. I get really excited and have to put my ideas into a shape. This is the first time I came across something I really want to do as a profession. The coaching sessions from Britt Jurgensen at Homebaked helped me to focus and make an action plan. I am now at evening college to do GCSEs again. I did extensive research about each university I wanted to go to and how I am going to get there. The other thing I found with my time at Homebaked and Rotunda is a real excitement of working with all kinds of different people and the feel of being part of a community. I have volunteered many places before, but in this time, I realized community work is something professionals can do and that I could be a designer and still use my skills to work for the benefit of communities.

Homebaked and Rotunda helped me to find placements at an Architects practice in Liverpool. I have recently finished my placement at Condy Lofthouse Architects where I learned how to use various CAD software and I got a real insight on what an architect does day by day (which made me even more excited). I work between Rotunda and Homebaked CLT at the moment supporting them with community engagement and communications and especially getting young people to be a part of their local community.

Once I had brewed my thoughts a little, I decided I wanted to go to Central Saint Martins, London. I was constantly on the internet researching a route in to CSM, then I found the 'Foundation Diploma in Art & Design' and after reading the course page extensively, I slowly got to the bottom where I saw the deadline was two days away. In a state of panic, I wrote my full application and pressed submit, to then receive an email saying, "you have 5 days to submit a 20-page portfolio of your work". Panic resumed. But then Britt and I sat down together and talked through the work I had done over the last year and how I could present that and I realized that I actually had a great amount of content for the portfolio. I finally understood why she made us take photos of everything we had been making. I started to piece everything together and submitted my portfolio with no time to spare. It was actually a great process, thinking about everything I had learned.
I knew this uni is one of the most prestige schools of architecture in the country and there was a high chance my application wouldn't be acknowledged.

A few weeks later, surprisingly, I got an email inviting me for a 'full group portfolio review' at CSM. I was due to go to Italy at the same time with my family, so I had to re-arrange my flights. This was when it began to feel real. I was really worried about the 'group' aspect of it. Who was going to be there? Would they all be from an arts background with lots of amazing sketch books? But I tried to block any doubts from entering my mind.

I printed and bound my portfolio and got on the train to London. I was planning to wait nearby the university to do some last-minute prepping. I saw a tutor and they got me in to the earlier interview, so I could definitely catch my flight. The interview went really well. It was a great group and we all bounced off each other, trying to help each other out. I felt very comfortable in my own skin.

Then the waiting started all over again. It was painful, I was worried the refresh button on my email account would burn out. By now I had a whole team at Homebaked and Rotunda, as well as my family and friends waiting with me. Every time my mum rang me, she started the conversation with: 'Av you heard yet?' After 9 weeks of all of our patience bearing thin, I received an unconditional offer. I can't contain my excitement for September!

When I look back at how far I have come over the past year and the opportunities I have been given, I feel very proud and also grateful. None of this would have been possible if it wasn't for the encouragement and guidance I have been given from everyone. Now I am on my way to becoming an Architect.