Andy Mcgowan

Andy is 22 and was a young carer to his two disabled parents since he was six years old. This badly affected his schooling, meaning that his attendance dramaticaly dropped and he actually missed his SATs in Year 9. Yet he turned it around and was successful in his GCSEs and A Levels, and graduated last summer with a Law Degree from Cambridge University. Andy constantly tries to help more people achieve their full potential and has been elected as the Sabbatical Access Officer for Cambridge University Students' Union. He has been tireless in his work to encourage more young people to consider applying to Cambridge and higher education in general. At weekends, he is also a Shift Manager at McDonalds, helping crew members to gain an apprenticeship in hospitality in order to improve their qualifications. He won Employee of the Quarter for the Central-West Region in 2007 for his efforts. He has been an active advocate for the needs of young carers and their families, locally and nationally, regularly talking about his experiences to both young carers and professionals, and volunteering every year at the National Young Carers' Festival. In 2006, he was asked by The Children's Society to fly out to Nairobi as a UK delegate, to represent the voices of Young Carers. He was also asked to sit on The Children's Society's Trustee Board. He is now trying to save enough money to pay for the course needed to qualify as a Legal Aid solicitor, whilst also continuing to help his parents.Update: I am now 23, am now working at McDonalds full-time after my role as CUSU Access Officer ended in July (it is a one-year position) and I am applying to do a PGCE in Citizenship for 2012 entry before law school at some point after that.