Anisha’s story

Anisha had just started the first year of a Social Work degree at the University of Leeds when she did a 1-day Grit programme

The transition from college to uni was difficult. At college I knew what to expect, I knew what I needed to do, I knew loads of people. I was involved in everything. But at university I didn’t know anyone and I was sure I wasn’t as clever as everyone else.

The Grit workshop was amazing – so many different people from so many different backgrounds.  And it was one of the ice breakers, having to stand up and talk about myself in front of all these new people, that got the ball rolling. It got the ball rolling in the workshop and it got the ball rolling for my life at university.

The workshop gave me the confidence to just go out and get it.  Now in class I put my hand up and get involved. I take part in the debates and discussions. When there’s a new group project I’ve got the confidence to speak up and speak out. I make sure my voice is always heard. I know what’s going on. I don’t feel left behind anymore. Now I know I’m just as good as everyone else

In college I didn’t think about goals. I didn’t have any plan other than to get to uni and get a degree. But when I arrived the thought of being part of university, of getting involved, was overwhelming. I just didn’t know where to start.

In the workshop there was a lot of reflecting on the big questions for me. What do I see myself doing? What roles do I want to take on? What groups and societies do I want to get involved with? What sort of friends do I want to make? What opportunities do I want to explore?

As we talked about these questions, as I heard what other people had to say, all the different aspects of university life opened up for me. I began to see the bigger possibilities it could offer me. I saw a different dimension to university. The workshop kick started my uni journey.

I’m sure that Grit has boosted my grades. On the Social Work course we have to do a lot of presentations to lecturers and everyone else on your course. So I keep going back to the Grit ice-breaker, t0 when I first talked to a room of new people. It gives me the confidence to just get up and do it.

As part of the course we meet service users and have five minutes to get to know them and then we have to work on a reflection piece. So, again, I go back to the self-reflection that the Grit workshop sparked in me, the time when reflection started being part of my everyday life.

Grit helps me think through what I wanted in my life outside university. I really wanted to get my own flat – this is a big deal when you’re a care leaver, setting up in life.  I also have to think getting my finances sorted, getting a job so I can pay the bills, figuring out how I’m going travel around. There are so many options and decisions, it’s difficult to think about what to do, how to prioritise.

The goal setting, the breaking down of goals in smaller achievable steps that we did in the workshop, made things achievable. So now I’ve just moved into my first flat, I’m learning to drive, I’ve written a CV and I’m about to actively start searching for a job.  Grit kick started my university journey and it kick started my life as an adult.