International Volunteer Day 2019 - Why We Volunteer 4!
Pictured Left - Right: Matthew Blandford, Daniela Atanasova, Blake Kennison, Krishna Patel
To continue the International Volunteer Day blogs, Connecting Up Inc. felt we should introduce you to some more of our wonderful volunteers, many who have been with us for a year or more and a couple for only a month or two. Welcome to our Monday group.
Matthew Blandford
Matthew is a graduate of UniSA with a Bachelor of Writing and Creative Communication. He volunteers at Connecting Up to apply the skills he developed during his tertiary studies and gain further experience in an office environment for future paid work in an administration role.
Matthew started with Connecting Up in February 2019 and has volunteered regularly for the last 11 months. He has written of his volunteer experience >>here and has published articles on a variety of community services for the SAcommunity media channels, his portfolio of work can be found on the blog >>here.
[Editors note: We are pleased to announce in January 2020 Matthew is now in a full-time role, Congratulations Matthew! He writes the following:
“Long story short, I got a job! I am now working full-time and started on Monday. I would like to say a huge thank you for the opportunity to volunteer, I would like to thank you personally for the guidance and support you have given me and for challenging me to do what's outside my comfort zone. I truly believe volunteering with Connecting Up has been the best possible preparation for my new role.”]
Daniela Atanasova
Daniela has volunteered with Connecting Up Inc. since November 2018. She joined the team of volunteers to gain more local experience, improve her communication skills and meet new people whilst she looks for further paid work opportunities.
Daniela graduated with a Bachelor of Finance from Bulgaria, Daniela worked in various roles, as a bank accountant and office assistant/bookkepper in Europe to working as an assistant manager at amusement park in New Jersey, USA.
Migrating to Australia seven years ago, Daniela gained her Certificate IV in Bookkeeping at TAFE SA while looking after her young child. She currently runs a small on-line business and teaches at the Bulgarian Ethnic School in Adelaide, her mission there is to help preserve the Bulgarian language and culture. In addition to taking calls and updating organisations for the directory, Daniela has written articles on local multicultural community events for SAcommunity publications that can be found >>here.
Blake Kennison
Blake has certificate III in Information Technology (Network Administration) and is currently studying a Diploma of Information Technology Networking at TAFE SA and has volunteered with Connecting Up since May 2018, more than 1 1/2 years. Blake has written about his volunteering experience >>here.
Blake plans to move into the IT industry, particularly a position in IT help desk. He is volunteering at Connecting Up to expand his skills in customer service, data entry and to learn more about the software the workforce use in their daily routine.
[Editors' Note: Blake has recently returned to Connecting Up Inc. and the SAcommunity service in February 2021 having completed his Diploma of Information Technology Networking, congratulations Blake! Blake is now volunteering with us whilst he continues his job hunt.]
Krishna Patel
Krishna is new to Connecting Up Inc. and has just started volunteering with us. She is currently studying a Master of Information Technology at Flinders University and has a Bachelor of Information Technology Institute of Technology (SITG) in India, working there for 3 years as a Software Quality Assurance Engineer.
Krishna is volunteering at Connecting Up to learn about the local work culture and have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people and improve her communication skills. She aims to be a Data Analyst in the future and her interests lie in data analysis, web development and software testing.
Why we Volunteer - hear from our volunteers on the following blog posts
International Volunteer Day 2019
International Volunteer Day 2019 - Why We Volunteer 1!
International Volunteer Day 2019 - Why We Volunteer 2!
International Volunteer Day 2019 - Why We Volunteer 3!
International Volunteer Day 2019 - Why We Volunteer 4!
International Volunteer Day 2019 - Why We Volunteer 5!
