News: From loss to leadership, Antonia’s mission to raise addiction awareness
In April this year, 17-year-old Antonia Moran organised and lead a group social action project designed to raise awareness of those affected by alcohol abuse, a subject close to her heart. This successful event led to her winning our Student of the Term and being nominated for the National AoC (Association of Colleges) Young student of the year.
Antonia, who studies Level 3 Fashion Business & Retail, designed the event to offer support and understanding to her peers that have family or friends that suffer from alcohol addiction. She used her own personal experience as a powerful example of how talking can facilitate coping, moving forward and supporting others.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the social action project, Antonia explained:
I wanted to start this support group to make sure that other students going through this could feel less alone, because that’s how I felt.
Growing up, my dad struggled with alcohol addiction a lot and that’s how he passed away, when I was just 15. This common addiction has really impacted my life, I feel like it’s always been with me.
I guess there’s a lot of support for alcoholics with groups and rehab for them to attend, but there’s not much support for those who are impacted by it, like their families and friends. There’s a lot more people out there than you think that are dealing with this, and it’s not spoken about, it’s taboo.
Antonia Moran — Level 3 Fashion Business & Retail student
Taking place at our Adams building in April, the first alcohol awareness group was a great success. Students had the opportunity to get to know each other through a quiz whilst tucking into pizza and refreshments. Antonia bravely shared her personal story with the group and was followed with a talk by Jacob from Change, Grow, Live – a UK charity that specialises in substance misuse and criminal justice intervention projects.
In collaboration with CGL, Antonia is now planning her second awareness group with the broader theme of substance addiction in general. She said: “I want to make sure it’s relevant to more people because there is a lot of crossovers with addictive behaviours and the impact it has on others.
“I do enjoy doing the support groups and I’m looking to continue creating more events and spreading the word further. If people need the support, I want to help make sure they get it.”
Following the event, Antonia won Student of the Term for her efforts, which led to her being shortlisted for the AoC Young Student of the Year award. She said:
“I was so happy to win student of the term, it was nice to be recognised for the work that I’d done and that my work had been noticed. I wasn’t expecting anything from what I’d organised. I just enjoy working hard.
Following the event, Antonia won Student of the Term for her efforts, which led to her being shortlisted for the AoC Young Student of the Year award. She said:
“I was so happy to win student of the term, it was nice to be recognised for the work that I’d done and that my work had been noticed. I wasn’t expecting anything from what I’d organised. I just enjoy working hard.
But I was so shocked to be shortlisted for the AoC award because so many people are put forward for it. It was an amazing feeling! And to tell my family about it, they were so proud. It’s definitely been a highlight of my year.”
Now in her second year, Antonia has enjoyed her experience studying with us, she said:
“It’s going really well, I loved my first year, it was great because I got to go on trips including to Selfridges in Birmingham! I got a distinction and I’m hoping to get one in my second year too, so I can get the UCAS points I need to study fashion management or business at university.”
Published on:
- 4th November 2024 (4:44 PM)
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