University of Exeter students spend a day with YMCA Exeter

This month, we hosted a group of 66 students from the MSc Accounting and Finance course at University of Exeter, funded by the University of Exeter’s Alumni Annual Fund.

We were able to plan a full day of activities for the students, starting off with a Heritage talk delivered by ex-staff member and current volunteer, Dr Tom Browne. The students were able to hear about the history of the YMCA and the important contribution it has made in Exeter since. They also heard from Finance Manager, Fen Yee Teng who shared about charity accounting and our joint CEO’s delivered a session on the values, mission and projects of YMCA Exeter.

After the morning sessions, the students took to the streets of Exeter for a competitive treasure hunt, exploring some historical sites in the city centre and hunting for clues at each one. Students enjoyed this activity and appreciated the team-building element. After all the groups had found their way back, they enjoyed listening about fundraising and volunteering from our Resource and Communications manager Peter Hall.

A special moment of the day was when Johna Selva, who previously graduated from the same MSc Accounting and Finance programme and now works as Finance Coordinator at YMCA Exeter, was able to share from his experience and offer advice to the students. We asked Johna to share his reflection of the day and his career journey:

The day ended with therapeutic horticulture activities including woodwork, blacksmithing and arts and craft. This gave the students an opportunity to learn about the use of horticulture for mental health and wellbeing.