Ann Daly and Nigel Mc Givney pictured with students from Drumgossett National School
For over ten years Kingspan have inspired and motivated thousands of students in the Monaghan, Cavan and Louth region to be the best that they can be while introducing them to numerous career possibilities in areas such as; business and enterprise, science, technology, engineering and maths.
In the 2016/17 school year, Kingspan released 13 business volunteers stemming from various career backgrounds including; Management, Design Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Logistics, R&D, Finance and Marketing to name a few. Each of the volunteers delivered a structured JA programme, which promotes work readiness, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and the value of studying STEM.
Nigel McGivney demonstrates CPR to studentsReflecting on their experience of delivering JA programmes, Kingspan business volunteers Ann Daly and Nigel McGivney, said “We have been delivering JAI programmes for a number of years and it truly is a rewarding experience to be able to play a part in inspiring young minds. This year we decided to deliver Junior Achievement’s science initiative ‘Our Universe’ to two schools; Drumgossett N.S. and Bunscoil, Carrickmacross. By introducing science at an early stage its more likely students will choose this subject at second level and beyond, as it really was an excellent way of opening the students’ minds to the vast choice of exciting career paths and opportunities that science has to offer, and doing so in a fun and hands-on way.”
Following Dawn Thompson’s time in the class, Marie Meehan, TY Coordinator, St. Louis Secondary School, Dundalk said “Dawn was inspirational, it was great to hear a female Chemical Engineer talking about her career path and how it led her to her current job in Kingspan. It opened a huge interest within the students about STEM subjects and possible careers in the future. Dawn is always welcome back to our school.”
Mairéad Mohan, JAI Programme Coordinator for the Border Region explains “By utilising the experience of those already in the workforce, JAI help children of all ages to fully understand the important role that education will play in shaping their futures. Each of our volunteers are fully trained to deliver hands-on learning experiences that empower students to make connections between what they learn in school and how it can be applied to the real world. We are extremely grateful to Kingspan for their continuous support and special thanks to our 2016/17 business volunteers; Ann Daly, Nigel Mc Givney, Noreen Farrelly, Christine Greene, Mary O’Brien, Emily Daly, Christina Mooney, Samantha Rushe, Shane Thornton, Karen Connolly, Caolan Doyle, Dawn Thompson and Ciara Maddock.”