Helen Cubberley, South Wales project worker, Funky Dragon

I was involved with the youth club at the end of my street. I started out doing voluntary work, then paid sessions, and then became part of the Neath Port Talbot Youth Council. It was a great experience training adult cabinet members to consult young people and gathering the views of young people in the area.

- And that set you on a career path?

I thought of becoming a teacher, but this showed me there was a less formal way to work with young people. At university I read sociology and popular culture.

- And your first job?

My work at the youth council got me the post of participation trainee at Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. I was there for a year, helping to develop a participation strategy. Then an opening came up at Funky Dragon (the children and young people's assembly for Wales). I'm on a research project for 18 months, which will produce a report on how young people in Wales can access their rights under the UN Convention. I'm also doing a master's in Education and Society - Youth and Community at Trinity College, Carmarthen.