Lilia's Story

By former student Lilia Demian

Moving to Ireland was a bit hard for me, even though I had my sister and all her support here, my English was horrible and I couldn’t speak it at all. I went to an English school which lasted only for one month, because they said that I needed to go forward to a more advanced one. I couldn’t go to secondary school to do my Leaving Cert because I didn’t have my PPS number. The only way how I could have got it was to wait until I turned 18. But after that, it was too late to join the secondary school as I was “too old”. The only option for me to get my QQI Level 4 which is very similar to the Leaving Cert was Youthreach on North Great Georges St. So, I decided to give it a try.

When I came to Youthreach I felt very welcomed. I had all the support needed from my teachers which helped me to get more comfortable with the centre. There were not too many students in the class, around 10, which felt more like in a private school. I feel that Youthreach was a better way for me to learn as you get more time to express yourself and whenever you have difficulties you will get help. There is no pressure on the subjects. All you must do is to complete the assignments in each Module, which I think were pretty straightforward. Also, Youthreach is great because you don’t really have to do exams which can be quite stressful for some students, all you need to do is to pass 5 Core Modules and 3 Elective Modules.

In my opinion all the subjects were appealing, and that’s more because the teachers were making them this way. One of my favourite modules was Art. Even if you’re not good at it, that doesn’t matter as you get the time to relax through drawing or painting and obviously there is no pressure on you. Another module that I really liked was Interculturalism and that’s probably because it is a very easy one, also you get to learn about different cultures around the world which I found very exciting.

The Breakfast Cookery was the subject that I used to hate at the beginning and that’s ok, because I wasn’t a great cook, I just wasn’t used to it. Following all the instructions and listening to my teacher got me to love it being in the kitchen. Usually I would bake, I ended loving to bake muffins, brownies and other delicious things. As Eddie would say “it’s a great skill to have” and I agree with him 100% as it will last forever.

After I completed all my QQI Modules I decided to continue with the Beauty Therapy Course which is located on the top floor of Youthreach NGGS. There are two Modules from the QQI level 5: the first one is about Skin Care, Make Up and Eye Treatments; and the second one is about Manicure, Pedicure and Waxing.

I couldn’t believe how many new things I have learned from this Module, especially about the skin. For example, how many layers the skin has and what it is composed of; how to treat it or what we should do/avoid to prevent getting comedones, pustules, lines & wrinkles and other undesired things that may appear on our skin. What products are suitable for each skin type and how it can affect our skin while using the wrong one.

All these things were taught by our teacher Emma which I’m so thankful for. She really did her best to explain us all these things in a way that we could understand. In the beginning it really felt like she was speaking a “different language” but with all her work we are able now to explain all these things to other people. After completing the first module which is one year, I

decided to complete the next one as well. I thought that the second module would kind of be a recap for me because we had to cover again the skin theory which I was familiar with. But that was great, it made me focus on the new things for example nail diseases & disorders; hair theory and others.

Overall I can say that it was a great decision for me to join Youthreach NGGS. It really gave me time to grow, to believe in myself and to analyse what I want to do in the future. In September I will be attending Marino College PLC to do a full QQI Level 5 Beauty Course, and who knows maybe I’ll continue to study Level 6 and so on. All I can say about Youthreach is that it really gave me a second chance to get an education, as I wouldn’t have got to college without it.

I would recommend this centre to everyone that is unsure of what they want to do in the future, or they need some more time & support. In the end it’s not all about learning, but in making friends and having a great time with your peers as well. For me it was a great opportunity, it could be for you too.