National Take Over day, also known as 11 million Take Over, is a day when children and young adults get the chance to ‘take over’ a workplace and show adults what they can do.

This event takes place every year usually on November 7^th, and gives young people the freedom to make changes to their local community, gain work experience and see how part of the adult world works.

I got offered the opportunity to shadow staff working for Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (OBMH). I chose to shadow the Communications Team. My plan for the future is to study media and film at university and become a camera woman, so I thought that shadowing the Communications Team would be a good chance to learn how to communicate with the public via film and the press.

I believe that I’ve gained a lot out of my day with the Communications Team. I learnt how not to lose focus when putting a key message across in an interview, how to design leaflets using Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator, and I filmed, directed and produced a short film about the OBMH Stamping Out Stigma Campaign.

 I’m really glad that I took part in the Take Over Day, and have learnt so many useful techniques whilst working with Communications that will definitely help me with my current college course, and in the future. So, thank you lots Emma, Christian, and Carrie-Ann for letting me work with you, and making my day so fun and interesting