When I was at school, it was possible to complete the DofE Bonze and Silver Award. Being able to do this really built up my confidence and independence as a young person at the time.

After leaving school I sadly lost my father which left me in a place where I had never found myself before. I felt I was lacking purpose and direction, as I had always seen myself through the eyes of my father who always guided me and helped me realise my potential.

I then began looking for something to keep my mind occupied, something that would push me out of my comfort zone and rebuild my confidence. I looked back to my time in school doing DofE and how much it helped me.

I went on to the DofE website to see if it was possible to do my DofE Gold Award independently, with the help of the eDofE team I was able to kick-start my Gold Award journey.

The format of the award pushed me to try new things, meet new people and learn new skills. I spent a week sailing on a tall ship for my residential and as a solo participant joining in with many other individuals this gave me a fantastic opportunity to look inwards, away from the distraction of everyday life.

As a lone individual having to integrate with a crew of complete strangers, I began to see that I was able to do things myself and that I was stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. I was able to build others up and push through when things got difficult.

I also discovered the power of sport by joining my local Rugby team, through this I was able to join a second family. A family who was there to support me whenever I needed it and who would continue to push me to do better.

All of this has helped push me to be a much better individual, creating long lasting friendships, discovering new skills and helped me greatly with career opportunities.

I would not be where I am today without DofE and owe a lot of who I am today, to the challenge it gave me.