I started my journey with DofE when I was a Bronze participant, I remember my qualifying expedition was the same weekend everyone thought the world was going to end which added a whole new experience to the weekend! I then completed my Gold whilst at University at Warwick, where I made some great friends- friends for life. This was a student run society, and over my 4 years at uni I progressed to being the lead volunteer running the society. It was amazing developing skills in leading a DofE unit and training up participants. This inspired me to go on to become a supervisor and assessor. When I left university and returned to Kent, I got involved in DofE with Kent Scouts. I was able to use my skills and experience to support the provision of the award locally and I am now an experienced assessor, verifier and leader. I am also now one of the 2 lead volunteers for DofE in Kent Scouts. My journey, experiences, skills, confidence, friends and even girlfriend all have been found through being involved in DofE, it truly has changed my life! The reason I love the award so much is because over the years I have seen so many participants overcome challenges and succeed in completing their awards- from people who had never camped before and had family who thought they could never do it, to young people completing their awards in the toughest of circumstances during COVID. It truly is an amazing award, and a fantastic legacy for HRH Prince Philip.