Peter Sweeney
Peter, 19, from Royston in Glasgow, left
school with few qualifications and few prospects. With help from
The Prince's Trust, he is now studying at college, with hopes of a
career in sports coaching and youth work.
After
getting involved with the wrong crowd, Peter became known to the
police and had a series of criminal convictions. He witnessed a
friend’s death at the hands of a rival gang, and it was at this
point that Peter knew he had to change.
Peter completed the Get Started in the
Environment programme, followed by Team. Keen to pursue a career in
youth work, he then participated in Get into Youth Work before
joining the Young Ambassadors.
Since completing public speaking training,
Peter’s confidence has grown considerably and he has spoken
candidly about his life and past to Trust supporters, potential
funders and Local Authorities.
A speech to Job Centre staff allowed Peter to
give a real insight into The Trust’s work and has resulted in
increased referrals with staff commenting on how valuable it was to
hear directly from a young person. Peter has also spoken to teams
participating on The Trust’s Million Makers Challenge and played a
key role in supporting a bid to Scotmid, to be its charity
partnership of the year, which has the potential to raise £150,000
for The Trust.
In early 2011, Peter had the opportunity to
participate in a hustings style event and spoke openly and frankly
to a group of MSPs. He shared his own experiences of the criminal
justice system and made suggestions on how to improve relationships
between community police officers and young people.
Peter has been asked to support and mentor new
Young Ambassadors this coming year, using his own experiences to
assist them with their public speaking skills and providing them
with support and guidance where required.
After completing an HNC in Sports Coaching at
college, Peter hopes to continue in education and complete his
second year, combining his qualifications and youth work experience
to pursue a career in this field.
Champions
We would like to acknowledge the individuals or organisations
who have played a key role in helping this young person achieve
success through their Prince’s Trust programme.
- Nadine Keenan, Programme Executive,
The Prince’s Trust Scotland
- The Wood Family Trust
- European Social Fund