Doing my DofE awards has had such a great impact on me.

I was quite an academic teenager and I think I would have ended up dropping sports and music to focus on my exams, which would have been really bad for my wellbeing. The award gave me a good reason to prioritise other interests.

I started helping with Rainbows for Girlguiding for the volunteering element of my Bronze award. I hadn't worked with children before and I found that I loved it! To cut a long story short, I'm now a primary school teacher! The award really opened that door for me.

The expeditions were the element that pushed me furthest out of my comfort zone and I'm proud to have completed them. While I'm unlikely to choose to carry a huge rucksack weighing a quarter of my body weight, nowadays I really enjoy walking and I appreciate spending time in the countryside.

The social element of the award was great too. It was lovely to meet new people at each stage; particularly my Gold expedition team during my first year at university. Best of all, one of my team became a great friend and we're now very happily married!

I was offered the chance to go travelling with Girlguiding and having all the kit and experience from my DofE expeditions meant I was ready to go and make the most of it. I volunteered to help lead a Girlguiding group to attend the Roverway Jamboree in Iceland, which counted towards my Residential element. At my DofE award ceremony, I was very fortunate to meet the Duke of Edinburgh, and he asked whether anyone had been abroad for their awards. I still can't believe I had the chance to talk to him about my trip. I wouldn't usually have the confidence to speak up in a large group and I'm still so proud that I did. Then the Duke said he had been to Iceland and remembered accidentally standing downwind of the Geysir and getting drenched in the sulphurous steam!

Thank you for all the fantastic memories the award has given me, and for the lasting positive impact on my life.