When We Were 21

As part of the When I Was 21 project we have also asked staff, volunteers and trustees that work for Depaul UK, as well as our donors and supporters, to submit their reflections on when they were 21. Alongside this we have asked the young people that we work with to submit their aspirations for where they hope to be when they are 21. The entries are still coming in, but below are just a few examples from some of our staff.

Paul Marriott: Chief Executive

"I was 21 in 1979, the year that Margaret Thatcher became prime minister, the Sony Walkman hit the shelves and Lord Mountbatten was assassinated by the IRA. It was an age ago! At the time I was studying in Durham. I’d just bought my first motorised transport – a Honda C70, called Penelope who was ultimately to be the victim of an arson attack. I loved the freedom the bike gave me..."Read More>>>>

Chris Walker: Head of Trusts and Corporate Partnerships

"Twenty-one is nearly half a lifetime ago. Nearly: not quite. I remember it with something of a blush and a shudder. I was in my junior year, at the College of Wooster, a small university in Middle of Nowhere, Ohio, where I would stride around the leafy, red brick-pathed campus in what I can only describe as a “refined swagger”. Embarrassing; how my toes curl at the memory of it.... "Read More >>>>>

Jane Freeman: Mental Health Worker

"When I was 21, I was working for Depaul, just as I am again 12 years later! I came to the end of my Combined Studies degree (a course for the undecided) and the only decisions I had made were that I wanted to stay longer in Newcastle, and that I wanted to work with young people. A few months later, I began a year’s placement at Simonside House, which had been opened the previous year (1997)...." Read More >>>>>

Dave Batchelor: Reconnect Family Mediation Worker

When I was 21 I passed my motorbike exam first time, discovering the joys of the open road and leaving cars for dead in traffic queues. I'll never forget the feeling of walking into the bike showroom with a pile of cash in my pocket, the faint smells of oil, WD40 and hint of petrol was better than any perfume ever made......Read More >>>>

Tim Harford: Head of Donor Care and Community Fundraising

"It was the mid point in a three year course in Forestry. My hope was to pursue a career in forest management. I was financing my student lifestyle with a grant (they had them back then!) and by working weekends and holidays for a local forestry contractor doing seasonal forestry work – planting trees in the winter, cutting them down in the summer.... "Read More >>>>>

Martin Brockwell: Outcomes Development Manager

On my 21st birthday I was “on holiday” in northern Spain. I had just finished a degree and had no idea what I wanted to do. I had no money so I decided to go on a “hiking holiday” with friends. We new some people in Bilbao who had promised we could stay in a field next to their house as long as we brought our own tents. We pitched up to find the field had cows in it and there was no bathroom..." Read More >>>>>