City College Norwich

Rachel Blackburn attended the City College Norwich Graduation Ceremony 2016 at Norwich Cathedral on Saturday 22 October.

For the second year running Rachel was invited to the ceremony as a distinguished guest after working closely with City College Norwich Higher Education to develop and launch their Mentoring Programme. Click here to read about the programme's launch.

This year City College Norwich is also celebrating its 125th Anniversary since being founded in 1891, during which time it has grown to become one of the region's integral educational institutions.

"It was inspirational to see so many people celebrating the results of their hard work!" said Rachel.

Rachel Blackburn was pleased to be invited to attend this memorable and spectacular event at Norwich Cathedral on Saturday 19 October.

City College Norwich is an Associate College of the University of East Anglia. It was positive to see so many people achieve success.

In particular our congratulations are offered to Katarzyna Izabela Mydlik on being presented with the HE Student of the Year Award, pictured with Rachel.

Rachel said "Having been a mentor for Kasia back in 2016, it was great to see how she has worked to achieve success in challenging circumstances and we wish her all the best for the future".

Having assisted in the development and October launch of City College Norwich School of Higher Education's Mentoring Programme, Rachel Blackburn kicked off her role as Mentor to two business students in an Executive box at Carrow Road, home of Norwich City Football Club.

The Mentees, Laura Key and Kasia Mydlik (pictured left and right, respectively), were eager to be mentored by Rachel after learning of her own story and experiences in business, including founding US2U Consulting.

Rachel plans to meet the Mentees several times over the next year to provide guidance and advice in line with the agreed targets and objectives for the Programme.

Laura commented on the first meeting, "It was really motivating and energizing. I will be putting your communication advice into practice immediately!"

"I am so appreciative of not only the way you have taken us under your wing but also of your generosity with your time and resources" said Kasia.

Thank you to Norwich City FC for their contribution to the City College Norwich Mentoring Programme.

As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy we are pleased to have been able to support the Charity Dinner at City College Norwich for Leeway and were fortunate to win the raffle drawn by Chloe Smith MP.

Leeway is a specialist domestic abuse charity supporting over 8000 adults, children and young people every year across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Rachel Blackburn was proud to be invited to attend the City College Norwich 2015 Graduation Ceremony at Norwich Cathedral on Saturday 24 October.

City College Norwich, celebrating 125 years of Providing Educational Excellence in 2016, were recognising Rachel's comitment to representing employers on their Leadership and Business graduate programmes over the last year.

Rachel commented, "It was great to be able to support this year's graduates and help provide them with the skills to compete in the graduate job market. Congratulations to them all!"

US2U Consulting are pleased to support City College Norwich School of Higher Education's Business Management Mentoring Programme, and attended the launch at St Andrews House on 17 October.

The programme aims to support students in pursuit of business degrees, matching individuals with mentors from specific fields or sectors of interest. It also focuses on fostering greater links between organisations and individuals within the community.

Rachel Blackburn, who was heralded as instrumental in working with City College Norwich to develop the programme, spoke at the launch of her own personal mentoring experiences and of the three key benefits of the programme for both parties.

For mentees these typically include getting inspired, being able to identify and learn from a professional role model and finding a source of advice in problem-solving.

Mentors themselves can also benefit greatly from the experience, with the process reinforcing what best practice means in their line of work, challenging their assumptions of 'what is normal?' and also providing a sense of personal satisfaction. Mentoring may also lead to extra responsibilities and therefore have benefits for career progression.

Rachel was excited to meet and scope meetings with her mentee and looks forward to lending her advice over the next year!

Watch City College Norwich's video to find out more about the programme