Who am I?
I’m Alex, I have recently graduated from Swansea University with a First in Business Management, and I will be studying an MSc in Strategic Marketing from September 2021.
I am originally from Maidenhead in Berkshire, South-East England.
In my spare time I enjoy reading, hiking, eating out and watching football. I am also neurodivergent, receiving a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome at the age of 5 in 2005.
Why Disability Wales?
I originally learnt of Disability Wales through my University Employability Team when I was looking for a summer internship to give me some experience in Marketing, which would be funded through their Graduate Support Programme.
I was immediately excited as I knew that I would be undertaking a work placement in a supportive environment, without fear of prejudice or discrimination.
I was also attracted by Disability Wales’s flexibility to allow me to work remotely, as working in-person would have been impractical due to my location.
What have I been involved with?
Throughout working at Disability Wales, I am fortunate to have been involved with a diverse range of projects, all of which aim to strengthen equality for disabled people.
I have particularly enjoyed helping to promote the Access to Elected Office Fund Wales (AEOFW), which has involved interviewing either disabled candidates or panel members for the Fund, and snippets of these discussions will be circulated on social media.
I also conducted market research to investigate the style and layout of fellow Disabled People’s Organisations’ webpages outlining their training opportunities, which has provided inspiration for us to develop our own.
I have also enjoyed attending training courses to further my development, including a session on using the website creation software, WordPress, and learning about the Social Model of Disability.
What have I learnt?
I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience of working for Disability Wales. It has taught me that, while there are barriers for disabled people, there are also a wealth of opportunities largely fuelled by the Social Model of Disability, which has helped to improve my confidence as a disabled person. I now believe that I can achieve my goals in life, which I was doubtful about prior to working at Disability Wales.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues at Disability Wales. It has been an incredibly welcoming and supportive environment, allowing me to obtain experience in a whole host of areas.
I was also delighted to be able to meet the majority of my colleagues in-person, which I thoroughly enjoyed, particularly due to the minimal opportunities for social contact in recent times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Overall, I have loved my internship at Disability Wales. I have had a fantastic experience, and would highly recommend Disability Wales to any prospective interns.
