Collaboration Queen
In my last place of work five values underpinned the college ethos - excellence, innovation, integrity, drive and collaboration. As a school we were proud of these values and worked hard to embed them in all aspects of college life. Traditionally integrity was always my favourite of these and the one which I prioritised in both my own practice and my encouragement of the young people that I taught, but since leaving my job there is one which I realise that I have taken for granted, especially since so much of my time is now spent alone at my computer - worlds away from my lively, spirited classrooms of twenty plus seventeen year olds where I spent the last five happy years of my working life. Collaboration. I always knew that I was exceptionally fortunate to teach the most inspirational young people and work with a team of incredibly committed staff but I think that I took for granted the wide and extensive collaboration that was modelled by everyone in our community every day. And I think it is probably one of the things that I miss the most.
I learnt a lot of lessons at my last job and many of those will stay with me for life. Someone who I was lucky enough to work with for three of my five years there was the wonderful Rochelle Robertson, someone who I constantly look to for inspiration and who I feel very lucky to be able to call my friend.
Despite the fact that Rochelle has always been one of the most productive people that I know, someone who can happily work without the support of others, she is also a queen of collaboration. This is the girl who used to be out at networking events nearly every night of the week after work, despite doing the most emotionally exhausting job that I know. This is also the girl who somehow managed to get me, a person who has historically paid for gym memberships for years at a time without setting foot in the buildings, into the gym near our old school at 6:30am twice a week so that we could complete spinning classes together before work. She also created, recorded and edited a successful podcast and performed in a band. The word superwoman comes to mind.
Rochelle has dedicated so much of her life to helping young people and has been working hard over the past year to build an exciting company, Ting (Together inspiring the next generation) which has the potential to revolutionise how young people will break into the creative industries. She has created a programme which enables young people and entrepreneurs from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds who want to break into the creative industries to receive the vital support which they need to get there. There couldn’t be a better person than Rochelle to run it as she has over a decade of experience of working in this field. She also has some of the greatest emotional intelligence and empathy of anyone I have ever known.
Elevate 2021 is the pilot programme run by Ting, in collaboration with Fishtank, another youth support service and self described “entrepreneurial space for young people aged 18-30 in partnership with community projects, businesses and corporations”. Young people on this programme are given access to a professional mentor who they will meet with monthly for a period of six months. They also get the benefit of professional masterclasses on key areas of business and additional coaching power hours where they can focus on specific needs according to their own creative path.
There is a lot about Elevate that is visionary. For starters, the programme is running entirely online which means that you don’t have to be based in London to get involved, which for anyone who has tried to break into the creative world will know, is crucial. The programme is also open to people from the age of 18-30. As someone in my thirties who still very much feels like they are finding their way on a creative journey this was lovely to hear. It dismantles the idea that if you are past the traditional cut off age of 25 so commonly seen in other supportive programs such as this then it is too late for you. Rochelle prioritises offering places on Elevate to those who need it most because they may be less likely to receive support elsewhere. Those from marginalised backgrounds or anyone with any other barrier which might stop them from succeeding.
I jumped at the chance to volunteer to deliver a masterclass and to mentor a young person and during the introductory training a couple of weeks ago, I felt so proud looking at the team of staff - Rochelle, Jen and Keisha, much loved former colleagues from ELAM, and Jess and Ellie, two of my previous English A Level students who now also work for the company. Both Ting and Rochelle epitomise the best type of collaboration.
As well as running Ting, Rochelle is also thriving in a full time job as the Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Soho House Group and is the creator and host of Vulnerable Podcast, an incredible podcast that is committed to helping people embrace and talk about their vulnerabilities.
You can learn more about Rochelle and see all of her amazing achievements on her social media here:
https://www.instagram.com/iamrochellerobertson/
Elevate 2021 is now in full swing and fully subscribed but sign up via the Ting website to receive updates on when they will be recruiting for the next round of mentors.