Alex first joined The Y in 2019 as a Raise Up crew member, supporting youth-led events and developing his leadership skills. Now in his final year of a Marketing degree at AUT, he returned as a marketing intern, and from there, has stepped in to join The Y family as Marketing Coordinator. In his own words, Alex reflects on his journey with The Y, from a youth volunteer to a dedicated member of the team.
Alex’s Story
Kia ora to everyone who has made it this far in the newsletter!
Five years ago, I never would have pictured myself interning at The Y as part of my degree, let alone being able to support The Y in a more meaningful role when my placement ended.
I began my journey with The Y as a Raise Up member back in 2019. During that time, I helped to organise and run events while building on my leadership and collaboration skills. I forged strong connections with other crew members across Auckland, especially within my own Lynfield crew and neighbouring Mt Albert. The skills I developed as a Raise Up volunteer proved invaluable later when I stepped into a hospitality management role during high school.
As I transitioned to university, a new opportunity came up in experiential marketing, where the event experience I gained through Raise Up was highly beneficial. By my third year of business studies, I wanted to find an organisation that aligned with my values for my marketing placement. Reflecting on my earlier experiences, I realised how keen I was to give back to the organisation that had helped me build many of my skills. I reached out to Raise Up, and was lucky that the head of Raise Up remembered me and helped secure a supporting role for Raise Up unit and the central Marketing team.
The start of my placement focused on Raise Up activities, including supporting both Walk the Line and New Found Sound. It was amazing to experience these events from the management side, after having seen them disrupted by COVID during my time as a Raise Up crew member. I was glad to champion the content created at these events and to guide Raise Up crew members to support me in this work.
Fast forward seven weeks and I’m now nearing the end of my placement, having built connections right across The Y. This experience has been exciting, interesting and positive, with plenty of support along the way. For me, these highlights show just how unique The Y is, and how youth-focused the organisation truly is. I’m delighted to now step into a role with The Y and continue to represent everything this charity stands for.