Sean

 
Sean Mc Hugh is a second year student studying Astrophysics.  He volunteers with the Civil Defence and Order of Malta on a regular basis. He has been involved with both organisations for a number of years. He is an expert at First Aid and has trained as an “Emergency First Responder”.
 
Sean attends local events while on duty. Every week events are different and varied. These include show-jumping, cross-country racing and football matches to name but a few. Sean said there are multiple positives to volunteering. He enjoys meeting new people at the various events and training programmes. He said “there is great satisfaction from helping people on what could be the worst day of their lives”. He added some days are more “challenging than others”. Sometimes he said “it’s hard to see what people do to each other and themselves”. He added that some situations can be difficult especially those that involve alcohol and drugs. They cause a lot of problems, especially at music festivals.
 
Sean said he would encourage others to volunteer. He said that “the current economic climate means there are many unemployed and that this is a great way to up skill”. He said its “enjoyable to give something back to the community”. You get to meet loads of new people and build up friendships with the “crew”. He said it will help him in his future career as most employers have Health and Safety Guidelines to follow and he will be fully qualified as a First-Aider. Sean finished his interview with some advice “make sure you find something you are interested in and something you have a passion for”. He said a great way to find out what suit you is to try the “once off” volunteering to get a feel for what works for you.