A Harrow College student who impressed her future employer during her work placement interview has, as a result, addressed an audience of over 100 guests.
Janice Dias is in the first year of her Level 4 Therapeutic Counselling Diploma at Harrow College. A requirement of the course is to complete a period of related work experience in order to develop your skills and accumulate working hours with clients. Janice was invited for an interview at Yakeen Counselling Services (a counselling project led by the DAWN charitable trust).
Janice shone at her interview and not only did she secure her work placement employment as a Trainee Counsellor, she was also invited to be a guest speaker for a forthcoming event organised by DAWN to address key issues about empowering women.
The event was attended by over 100 specially invited guests included MP for Harrow West Mr Gareth Thomas, Mayor of Harrow Cllr Krishna Suresh and an array of other VIP’s associated with DAWN. Janice, who is a mother of two aged 18 and 13, has been busy playing the role of mum for a number of years and was understandably feeling daunted prior to taking to the stage. However once the curtain was lifted, Janice was full of confidence.
Speaking about her role as guest speaker, Janice said “I had no idea about the scale of this event and how distinguished the audience would be. Counselling is very important to me. It was counselling that made me aware of putting me first on my own personal journey. The benefits are far reaching but unfortunately it is still a taboo topic. My talk was aimed at raising awareness and encouraging others to not hide away from counselling but to embrace it. Looking after our mind is just as important as looking after our body – for both men and women. My course at Harrow College has really given me the confidence to speak to such a large audience – something I’ve not done for over 25 years”.
During the evening, guests even stopped Janice to ask for her business card. Following this proud opportunity, Janice aims to qualify from her current course before embarking on a University Masters Degree in Psychotherapy. Janice commented “Hopefully people in a similar position to me will read my story and feel inspired to study as you can never stop learning”.
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