After graduating in 2021 with a Masters in International Development, I was determined to move into a role that had a real impact worldwide. I wanted to be a part of an organisation that worked closely with their international Partners, being led by what they say they need and not what we think they need. Lucky for me, I found just that! 

Working closely with Makeda on our International Programme has given me the opportunity to connect and learn from people across the globe, always amazed at each and every one of our Partners’ sheer determination to spread the joys of music in their respective countries. Their passion and drive has always, and will continue to, inspire me every day. My absolute favourite quote from Magda, our former Distance Learning Programme Coordinator, which I will take with me always, is:

Because you realise you won’t be able to put all the wrongs right in the world, but if you really stick to what you know and what you’re doing well, change is going to happen and it’s going to spread and multiply.

This year has been a real development for our Distance Learning Programme, and it has been a joy (and a real test of my patience at times!) to work on. My role here included the modernisation of our teaching materials in Romanian, Arabic and Georgian. These are languages I have absolutely no proficiency in so you can only imagine how much brain power this required!

Of course, I could not have done this alone and I appreciate Magda, Monika and Larisa’s help with the Romanian teaching materials, Fabienne with the Arabic, and Tako and Eliso with the Georgian. They have all had to put up with multiple emails from me in their inboxes so thanks for sticking with me on this big project!

It has been most special being able to play such a big role in our Music Helps project in India, the country my parents were both born in, and I am excited to see the course progress as Pavithra Gangadharan and the team are now looking to expand its influence across India. 

Being introduced to so many projects in various countries has really allowed me to grow professionally and identify areas that I loved and wanted more of in my future career. After the pilot of Music Helps, I led the immediate and medium-term impact report. This involved collating all of the wonderful survey data from our participants, analysing it and presenting the information I found in a final report. 

The project helped me realise what I wanted the next chapter in my professional life to be as it spiked a fascination in data analysis. So, I will soon be starting my new job in a research and insights role for a market research agency.

Whilst it has been saddening to leave everything and everyone behind, it has been especially heart-warming for me these last few weeks as I worked to handover everything I had worked on. It allowed me to really see the mark I have left on Music as Therapy International and I am proud of everything I have achieved here.

Now of course, I would have never been able to do this without my amazing team and their continuous support and advice. We have a small but cool team that does small but cool things and I’m going to miss being a part of all the magic. It’s also really fun being the youngest in the room because there’s always something new to learn from my peers, whether that’s a new skill or a band I have never heard of in my life – I am definitely leaving the office with a whole list of new artists to add to my repertoire! 

Alexia, Richard, Makeda, Elsa and Shirin I wish you all the best and will be cheering everyone on from the side-lines in 2024 (and long after). I was really lucky to have fallen into such an amazing first job straight out of university with a team that has helped me grow a lot in the last two years, so thank you!