Kristian 'worthy winner' of Hamblin contest

At the Careers 2008 event that took place at the Villa Marina on Thursday 7th February, the Hamblin Employment Group ran a competition offering anyone in full time education the chance to win £500 for their school or college and an I-Pod Nano for themselves.

Students were asked to write down in no more than 100 words ‘If you could have any job in the world what would it be and why’?

The Hamblin stand was inundated with over 100 entries on the day, which made choosing the winner a very difficult task. After reading all the entries back at the office, the Hamblin Staff and Directors finally came to a unanimous decision for the winner.

The winning entry (reproduced below) came from Kristian Duggan, of Castle Rushen High School.

Kristian, 16, has been in four care placements during his childhood. However, he has for the past five years, been happily settled with his grandmother, Ms Christine Howson, in Port St Mary, and is doing well at school. He is sitting 9 GCSEs this summer and plans to stay on into further education.

A school spokesman describes him as ‘a young man who has triumphed over difficult circumstances and is poised for a successful future’. They said he is a ‘positive role model’ for other young people.

Kristian was presented with an I-Pod Nano and a £500 cheque for his school, Castle Rushen, at a presentation at the morning assembly today (Friday) by Frank Newton, Chairman of the Hamblin Group.

Mr Newton said praised the 'quite magnificent' standard of entries and said choosing a winner had proved extremely difficult, but said Kristian was a very worthy winner.

He said:

'We were all touched and very impressed by his submission and he was a clear winner.'

Careers Adviser Liz Wood said the school would put the £500 to excellent use, purchasing three software packages that would enhance students' career and study choices.

If you could have any job in the world what would it be and why?

By Kristian Duggan, Castle Rushen High School

If I could have any job in the world I would choose to be a social out-reach worker. I would choose this calling because for the entirety of my life so far I have been in social care and for 9 years I was in residential care. It is these events that led me to think about this vocation. Whilst I was thinking about this career I realised that I could really help teenagers who, like me, are going through a really bad time. It’s family, friends or themselves I believe that I could truly help in that situation.