Mary-Ellen McLoughlin took a big step when she enrolled on a traineeship at South Eastern Regional College (SERC) Lisburn Campus but has found that “everything is inspiring” - and she is now encouraging others to apply.
Mary-Ellen, who is 17, had been home-schooled and, though she had been involved in youth clubs and a part-time job, knew she wanted to broaden her experience and learn alongside other people. She says,
“Art has always been a part of my life, part of me, so I applied for the Level 2 Traineeship in Art and Design and came to the campus for an interview. The tutors were lovely, and it was all very relaxed and I was impressed by the facilities – the studio is clean and spacious. I also met careers staff who were very nice and of course also informative!”
The young student says it felt like a major change to join a class full of people, but she soon felt comfortable:
“I was very nervous that first day, but I got over it in about 30 minutes! I thought to myself, everyone else is new at this and I’m here to do something I enjoy. There were friendly tutors and smiling faces all round – I tried to be encouraging and friendly myself to everyone else so that made it easier. And everything is inspiring, from the course to the clubs you can join.
“I like everything about the course so far; I’m a big fan of ceramics but I also enjoy graphics, where you get to use Photoshop and Illustrator. But I have to say, I love Mary Doran’s painting class. My grandad used to paint, and he died last year, before he could teach me everything I wanted to learn, so it’s been great to explore it at college.”
An important part of the traineeship programme at SERC is preparing students for future employment by developing relevant personal skills such as teamwork and planning. Mary-Ellen says,
“One of the highlights so far has been mounting an exhibition of our work in the Lagan Valley Island Arts Centre. We collaborated on selecting pictures and gave each other suggestions. My work is based on derelict, abandoned buildings. I find old buildings lovely, full of character. We planned the exhibition, and mounted it, measuring our paintings and the space to decide on the layout. I designed a poster to promote it; it was all fun and also worthwhile."
“If you’re thinking about applying, go for it! – I have already encouraged my friend to join next year. I would recommend SERC – it’s a relaxed, welcoming place to study.”
