Welcoming Abdisa back to Compass Connect!

The Compass Connect team with Youth Board member Abdisa following his Connect session

Compass Connect is our online English language programme, bringing together young people from across the country to build their confidence, strengthen their English skills, and connect with a supportive community. Through interactive sessions, learners develop their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills while exploring topics that matter to them.

Sometimes we welcome guest speakers and facilitators to the Connect classroom. This term, our learners were treated to a very special session delivered by Abdisa from our Youth Board.

Youth Board and long-time Compass member Abdisa led a session for each Connect class. Using the theme of dream jobs to develop the practice of English tenses, Abdisa shared his story since joining Compass, and also shared other experiences on behalf of other members of the Youth Board. Our Connect learners discovered that as a child, Abdisa had dreamed of becoming an engineer. Since arriving in the UK, his journey has taken many different paths, from learning English and completing ESOL, to studying plumbing, working in a variety of jobs, alongside becoming a Community Researcher and Youth Board member at Compass Collective.

Throughout the session, Abdisa encouraged our learners to reflect on their own ambitions and the skills they are building today. His advice was that curiosity, commitment and asking for support can lead to exciting opportunities, and that learning English through Compass Connect is an important step in preparing for the future.

His advice to the group was simple but powerful:

"Compass Connect is a special opportunity. Learn as much as you can from this class. Do not give up, even if pronunciation or spelling gets difficult. Do not give up."

Abdisa also shared why he volunteers his time with the Youth Board:

"I am part of the Youth Board because I want to help people like me by sharing my experiences and giving motivation for their future. I also want to keep learning more from them, the Compass team and others."

These sessions were a brilliant opportunity for our Connect learners to hear directly from young people who have taken a similar path through Compass Collective. By sharing their journeys, challenges and successes, our Youth Board members remind us that learning English is not just about language but also about building confidence and expressing who you are, what you believe in, and what you want for your future.

Thank you to Adbisa and Sanam who developed such a wonderful and engaging session, and to all the Youth Board for their amazing work.