I knew I wanted to do the DofE since I heard about it and I was fortunate enough that my school ran all three levels of the award. I was excited to spend time in the outdoors with my school friends and share that experience with them.
I completed my Bronze and Silver awards with my two closest friends and set off to do my Gold award with them as well. However, I had to drop out of my Gold assessed expedition due to mental health issues which took over a year to recover from, but I am certain that without aiming to complete my Gold expedition the following year I wouldn't have recovered so quickly. I worked hard to make sure I could be relied upon by my new team on my second attempt and I was delighted when I reached the finish - not only did it mark the completion of my Gold award, but also a very long and sometimes tough battle to regain my mental health.

Since then, the DofE has shaped my life in many ways. I originally planned to study Geography at university, however recognising the positive impact the outdoors had on my mental health, I got a place to study Outdoor Leadership and Management, which I will complete in a months time.
I have also been lucky enough to volunteer at the Gold Award Presentations three times and it has been wonderful to see so may Gold award holders receive their certificates.
Now, I am an expedition supervisor and have completed the training to become an expedition assessor, so I can help the next generation of participants gain their DofE awards.

DofE has, undoubtedly, been one of the most positive and transformative experiences of my life and I definitely would not be where I am today without taking part. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to take part and I hope that future participants get the same level of joy and self-worth that it gave me.