After graduating from university in Great Britain last summer, Lizzy McManus is back in Bermuda and on a mission to volunteer.

On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, the 22-year-old works with middle-schoolers at the Homework Academy run by community charity Family Centre.

The sessions in Dellwood Middle School welcome children who might struggle to complete their homework alone, perhaps through a lack of resources or support, and provide them with one-on-one assistance.

“My favourite part is when I’m working with a student and they suddenly get the answer,” said Ms McManus, who is applying for counselling psychology doctorate courses back in Britain, having studied psychology at Newcastle University.

“So many of the children come in with an ‘I can’t do it’ attitude, and it’s mind-blowing how much they increase in confidence in that moment.”

The academy also operates a reward system where hardworking and selfless students can earn tokens, which in turn can be exchanged for prizes.

“It’s really fun to help the students quantify how good their homework session has been,” Ms McManus added.

“Often, at the end of the session, they’re as surprised as we are at how many tokens they’ve received and how well they have worked, which again does wonders to their self-esteem.”

Elsewhere, Ms McManus, from Hamilton Parish, has volunteered since she was a child; she volunteers full-time at addiction charity Pathways Bermuda, while also helping out at the Centre Against Abuse, Mirrors, Friends of Hospice, PALS, Tomorrow’s Voices and the Coalition for the Protection of Children.

“I’m staying busy,” she said. “It’s a bit of a bold adventure, not getting paid for a year, but it’s been pretty amazing. I’m enjoying it so much.”

Following her studies, Ms McManus hopes to become a counselling psychologist in Bermuda.

“I’ve always been interested in helping roles and I’ve always wanted to do counselling,” she said, “then when I studied psychology, I grew interested in the research component.

“I like the combination: not only practising counselling, but researching it and finding better therapeutic ways to help people.”

• For more information on volunteering at Family Centre’s Homework Academy, call 232-1116 or visit www.tfc.bm