Julie Kennedy

Our collaborative culture

What I love about working at Activate Learning is the people. I love the people that I work with, the students that we have here, and I love that everyone here really wants to support those students and make real differences in their lives. That’s what’s so lovely about working here. The environment is one of ‘putting the student first’. The staff here will really go above and beyond to help out our students.

What I enjoy about my role in particular is that no two days are the same. I get to work with lovely students and help them grow and progress and that’s really rewarding.

Other members of my team—and this organization as a whole—inspire me by consistently putting students at the centre of what they do. This really helps me to put things into perspective and see just how important a role we play in these young people’s lives. That motivates me every day to do a better job. I feel compelled to constantly try and change courses for the better and help the students in any way I can.

The chance to develop

Over the years, as a member of staff here, I have been supported to grow and develop. I’ve had the flexibility to find courses and development opportunities that were specific and enabled me to pursue relevant training. I have been challenged and supported by my line managers to learn from my mistakes, and continuous seek to improve in all areas of my work.

My career with Activate

I started here at Activate as a sessional lecturer, that then became a permanent position. As the college restructured, there was an opportunity to become a programme manager. After working with the team for a few years, a secondment opportunity came up to become the head of the department. After that, as we moved into the faculty structure, I became a director. This opportunity has enabled me to work across all the sites and work with all of our amazing staff.