Where are they now?........................Past Pupil section.

In this feature we will look at what some of our past pupils have been doing since completing secondary school.

Kate O' Donovan from the class of 2011

During what time period did you attend Sacred Heart Secondary School?

I attended Sacred Heart from 2005 – 2011

What did you do for work experience in 4th year? Did the work experience benefit you and help you choose your job preference?

For work experience in 4th year we had 2 weeks set aside. I spent one week in the library in Clonakilty and another week in an office in the Technology Park outside Clonakilty. Work experience helped me realise that a career as a librarian wasn’t for me no matter how much I liked to read! I enjoyed my work experience and I think it is a great idea to try out different places and different lines of work. It may lead to finding an unknown interest or to find maybe that a particular career you are interested in may not suit you at all.

What did you do after leaving school?

I finished the Leaving Cert in June 2011 and started University College Cork in September 2011. I studied Early Years and Childhood Studies which was a 3 year course. I graduated in October 2014.

Are you working /studying now? And if so where?

I was lucky to get a job straight after I finished college. I applied to a number of preschool settings and I was delighted to get a call from Newcestown playschool for an interview. I started the job in September 2014 and I am working there since. I really enjoy working with young children and I find it very interesting.

What was your favourite memory of Sacred Heart?

I have a number of good memories of my time at Sacred Heart but a hard one to beat is getting a standing ovation every night of the school show in 4th year. Realising that all the hard work and long hours of practice paid off and people enjoyed the performance and musical enough to stand and show their appreciation … a great feeling!

What advice would you give your 16 year old self?

The advice I would give my 16 year old self would be to enjoy 4th year. It is a year of development … don’t take yourself too seriously! Have fun. Take part in things you normally wouldn’t. Build up skills, step out of your comfort zone! I would tell 16 year old me that taking part in the show was a great idea … even though I was hesitant to do so at first. It helped with confidence and lead to making new friends.                                                                                                                                                                        

If you could change something in your time in Sacred Heart, would you? … and if so, what would it be?

One thing that comes to mind is our mini company product in 4th year! If I could go back in time I would suggest to make something else as the product wasn’t very successful!! Although the concept was good it never quite took off the ground.

If you could go back for 1 day, what would be the first thing you would do?

If I could go back to Sacred Heart for one day the first thing I would do is … go to the lab and make ‘ice cream’ using liquid nitrogen … and taste it! Apparently I missed out big time when I didn’t taste it back in the day!!