A Month in the Life of Emily Cosgrove

Okay, so I’m going to cheat.  I quite like admitting to this because secretly I think we all enjoy a little disobedience, wouldn’t life be a boring if we didn’t? Working with clients I will sometimes explore how to bring more zest and energy to help explore a difficult issue, and a touch of mischief (even if it is only imagined) can certainly help. In fact working with David earlier this month reminded me not only how mischievous he is, but how important humour is in the learning process (he had just been working with The Comedy School where he is an advisor).

This summer saw me travelling the length of Kazakhstan, into Uzbekistan, Georgia and culminating with a final visit to Moscow. These trips were to deliver mentor and mentee training for BAT across their Caucasus and Central Asia regions, and to support HR in their programme management role. What an incredible experience working in such a diverse range of cultures and environments. A road trip up the beautiful foothills of the Zailiyski Alatau, sharing a family meal in Tashkent, and being told the story of this family’s history dating back to the Tsarist period of the city were just a few of the amazing experiences I enjoyed on my travels.

Late summer saw the final celebrations of a large national mentoring scheme I have been coordinating over the past three years with Cardiff University. The Aimhigher Associates Scheme recruited, trained and successfully deployed around 5,000 undergraduate mentors to work with over 19,000 learners in schools, colleges and academies across the country. The aim of this scheme was to offer long-term support to raise awareness, aspirations and attainment amongst young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Although the official scheme has now come to an end, many university-school partnerships are continuing to invest in the strong mentoring culture that has been established through the work of the scheme. Quite an awe-inspiring achievement and an incredible example of how powerful mentoring can be.

The last month started with a day at M&G to continue the workshops I have been delivering with CA over the last year, supporting mentees and mentors in their roles within M&G’s internal mentoring scheme. It has also seen me working closely with the Design Business Association to design and deliver mentor and mentee training for their new business mentoring programme. This has been an exciting journey so far, with an extremely well attended launch, a beautifully designed (of course) website and online support resources for mentors and mentees. I am very much looking forward to finding out how the programme has developed and hearing about the participant’s experiences when we next meet in a few months time.

Combined with my work, this month has also blessed me with the sale of our house by the sea and the purchase of a house in the city. Yes, we’re doing it the other way round!  Myself, my husband and our two girls moved to London two years ago and I have never once looked back. On a hot, hot day I do miss swimming in the surf but I have loved every minute of the choice this great city affords. Where else can your children go to trapeze club and have an open air singing session on Hampstead Heath after school?

So finally, last week took me to stunning Copenhagen to run a workshop for the latest cohort of multi-cultural graduates to join Maersk, their first day in a two-week induction programme. Working with such a fresh and dynamic group of young people reflected what has been going on for us all at home this month with our eldest daughter just starting secondary school. Wow, what a transition. Every day we are learning, every day we are finding new ways to explore a touch of mischief… well I did ask for it!

Oh, and the cheat? Well you may already have realised that this reflects just a little more than a month, but then - who’s counting anyway?!