My TY

Áine Treanorof Largy College, in Clones, writes about a year that has included advising the Ombudsman for Children

When I recall the past five months of transition year I relive both unique and everyday memories. I remember the time my classmates and I made a short film for one of our modules. We called it Mean Girls, and I played one of the not-so-popular students. Or the times my TY group went to Tanagh, an outdoor-activity centre in Co Monaghan, which we did every Tuesday. As we swam the length of the freezing, dirty lake, one of our macho classmates decided to climb a tree, only to find himself falling into the water.

I attend Largy College, and I am lucky to have such a varied transition-year course. Dance, woodwork, music and film modules are just some of its daily classes. Transition year also gives me time to be part of other projects and events outside school hours.

The biggest example of this is being a member of the Youth Advisory Panel, which helps the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, work out what young people in Ireland want and the best way of communicating with them. We also interviewed Emily for her post.

I have been a member of the panel for three and a half years, although I have often found it difficult to travel to Dublin for our meetings. This is why I have found transition year to be such a success, as it allows us time to experience other events, to meet new people and to be part of other projects. Many of my fellow panel members are in exam years, and they are feeling the pressure.

These past few months we have been particularly busy with the panel, as we have begun our campaign to recruit a new group. This has involved many new experiences, including recording radio advertisements, doing radio interviews and being photographed for a poster campaign - all of which I have enjoyed being a part of.

All the people involved in the ombudsman's office have been extremely supportive over the past three and a half years, and everyone has been great with all the work they've done with us on the panel's recruitment campaign.

I have greatly enjoyed all the opportunities and new experiences I have had. I am honoured to get the chance to be part of something so unique, and I would definitely recommend, if you're between the ages of 12 and 17, that you look up the panel on www.oco.ie or ask your principal about the application forms to become involved in the new group.