Brecon Beacons College student, Misty Campbell, has recently been selected as a finalist in the Inspire! Adult Learning Awards 2024.
Misty started working in the Café in Y Gaer in Brecon as part of a placement through Elite Supported Employment, a programme supported by NPTC Group of Colleges as part of the Pathway 4 Programme. Misty is neurodiverse and has mobility issues, so at times has found working challenging, occasionally she will need help from her colleagues so she can be as autonomous as possible. However, despite this, her confidence and well-being have improved massively in the time she has been working.
Martin White, College Refectory Manager, felt that Misty would benefit from gaining a Level 1 Food Hygiene Certificate, not only to improve her work but to build on her confidence and realise that regardless of any of her additional learning needs, she can do it.
When feeling anxious working through the syllabus, Misty had the support of her colleagues and Martin to help her get through it. They would take it one step at a time and over a few weeks worked their way through everything in bite-sized chunks and recalling it through quizzes. One thing that helped Misty learn, was allocating topics to real life. For example, to remember that rice is a high-risk food, she remembered when she went to Turkey on holiday and the rice was placed in a bowl on top of a piano, out of the way. To remember what allergens are, she would think of her uncle who is allergic to bee stings, so would require an epi-pen when he would go into anaphylactic shock.
When it came to the exam, Misty would get anxious and occasionally upset. Martin helped her by not telling her she was doing an exam; they would treat it like any normal task or question. Martin would help read the question, and Misty would be able to point out which answers were wrong, and which were correct, with a full explanation, and no guidance from anyone else. Misty passed with full marks.
When talking about why he nominated Misty for the Inspire! Award, Martin said:
“Not only did she overcome huge obstacles, she also successfully studied for her food hygiene course and then passed the exam. She also showed us all, that regardless of personal circumstances and challenges she faces every day without complaining or giving up, she still gave it everything. Misty was overwhelmed when I told her she had completed and passed her exam, she was so chuffed and was ringing all the people she has built a close bond with to tell them. Misty was a joy to teach, and, on many occasions, I felt she was teaching me.”
Misty has had a great time working at Y Gaer Café:
“I always look forward to seeing my regular customers and serving cakes and sandwiches with a smile. I have been learning how to make Bara Brith, oat and date slices, lemon drizzle cake and almond slices. I’m getting better at carrying trays, using a sharp knife and using the mixer.
The support I have had at Y Gaer has made me more confident and helped me improve. The food hygiene was hard, but I did it with support from Andy, Rachel and Martin and with my own determination. I hope to continue at Y Gaer as a volunteer and look forward to trying new things in the future.”
Misty will be carrying on her hard work by working towards her Level 2 in Food Hygiene at Brecon Beacons College.
Congratulations Misty, we wish you all the best.
