We are now coming closer to the end of the academic year, meaning that my gap year will be ending in just a few months. With my placement finishing yesterday, I am now reflecting on how the last year has been. Not only has this gap year been unique, in that it has all been online, but also because I am the first SU Scotland gap year to do the gap:comms placement.
I was supposed to be working alongside the comms team at the SU Milton street office, in Glasgow. Due to the restrictions, however, we were unable to work at the office for the whole placement. So instead, I worked from home for the whole year. While this was disappointing, there were a few advantages. Such as I did not need to get up as early to commute to Glasgow, this allowed me to get extra sleep every morning – which I could not argue with! Working online also opened many opportunities throughout the year, such as the chance to take part in an English Ukraine club. To find out more about that, please read, Ukrainian English Club – A new venture.
Throughout the year, I helped the SU comms department on many projects. I did a lot of video editing throughout the year, I did some work in preparing social media posts, and I also helped with technical support for some online events, such as the SU Staff conference, and other youth events. Working through all these projects allowed me to use my God given skills to help the ministry of SU, and to develop my current skills and learn even more!
Over the last year I have also been running the SU blog. This has involved reaching out to a SU staff member, asking them for a blog, and then agreeing on a deadline with them. After this I would make a monthly schedule for the blog and set times for each blog to go live. I have even written a few blogs:
Trusting in God’s Provision | Gap Year 2020-21
Bible Reflections | Certainty in this time of Uncertainty
Steven Randall | Gap Year 2020-21
Running the blog has develop my organisational skills, and it has helped my communication.
In the second half of the placement, I helped with a project to start replacing the advertising screens at Lendrick Muir (LM), as there were a few issues with the ones we currently have. This included me doing research into different advertising screens, speaking to colleagues from LM, and contacting different companies to ask for quotes. This project helped me by gaining insight into how these things work.
Video editing was probably my favourite aspect of the placement. I enjoyed seeing various projects all come together and seeing my improvement in my video editing skills throughout the year. It was also amazing to see how God used some of those videos throughout the year, and to hear in the many ways in which people benefitted from them.
I will be studying theology next year. How then, will my placement help me in this? Theology and comms work are far from each other – they are totally different! Even though the work I will be doing next year is almost nothing like the work I have been doing this year, many of the skills I have learnt this year are transferable to almost anywhere I could go. To give one example, I have learnt to be more organised this year. I have been scheduling all my work over the last couple of months, making sure I have enough time to get all my projects complete. This will help me next year, as I will undoubtedly need to manage workloads.
It has been a great year, I have grown in many ways, and despite the circumstances, God has worked in and through me. I am very thankful for his provision throughout the year, and the ways in which he has helped me grow. I will never forget the support I have received from the past year from all of my generous supporters, this year would not be possible if it was not for the financial support and prayers that received from them.
Steven Randall
Gap Year 2020/21
