Twenty-two-year-old Tumisha Balugun, from North Peckham Estate, is one of the founders of The Advantage Group, an organising working with Southwark schools to help young people gain the confidence and skills needed to land their dream career.
“I grew up in what you’d say was a low income background with free school dinners. I did not want to be defined by my circumstances, but when I got an internship at google at the beginning I really struggled with imposter syndrome. I didn’t want any young person to feel like that,” the former Ark Globe student says.
She hopes The Advantage Group will help other soon-to-be school leavers take advantage of the opportunities out there – and not let their start in life hold them back.
As well as focusing on attributes important for any job, including communication skills, she says the key to their work is making sure students are being inspired and mentored by people they can relate to who are similar in age, background, and ethnicity, what she describes as ‘relatable faces’.
Tumisha has already visited her former school, as well as St Thomas The Apostle and Harris Academy Peckham. Now interning for Red Bull, she hopes to soon run her organisation full-time and reach thousands more students with pitching and presentation workshops.
To find out more and get involved, email info@theadvantagegroup.co.uk