Interview with Julia Manser, 12th March 2026

00:00:00 Belle

Hello, I'm Belle. I'm from Discovery and it's the 12th of March 2026 and I'm here with Julia at the Discovery 60th anniversary event.

So, if you wouldn't mind, Julia, would you be able to start by telling me about your connection to Discovery?

00:00:13 Julia

Yeah, hi Belle, I'm Julia Manser. I'm a current trustee with Discovery. I have been a trustee for nearly a year, so I'm in my first year of my commitment to Discovery, but I've known Discovery an awful long time.

I work for Swansea Council for Voluntary Service in the area, I've been with them for 22 years. So, Discovery's been on my radar a long time and I'm Swansea University alumni. I did a degree in social policy and I graduated in 1999 and then I did a master's in social research. I can't remember when that ended. It was quite a while ago, probably a generation ago.

But I was already volunteering when I came to Swansea University, so I didn't get involved with Discovery at that time.

00:01:02 Belle

So, would you say that volunteering aided your student experience?

00:01:06 Julia

Volunteering was the reason for my student experience.

I did an access course to get into Swansea University, and I did an access course because I was a community activist. I was doing a lot in the women's refuge movement and in housing movement. And it was that actually got me into college, which got me into university. So, I came the kind of other route, but it's the same sort of journey as Discovery students are doing now, I guess.

00:01:36 Belle

Can you tell me a bit about your role and what you do?

00:01:38 Julia

Yeah, I mean, it's interesting. I'll say I've been a trustee for around a year now and even with my experience as lead for volunteering in SCVS, I wasn't sure I'd be the best trustee and, that was a kind of misunderstanding, I guess, about what a good trustee is. And I'm absolutely loving the role.

So, when you become a trustee with Discovery, you get lots of training. I've been buddied up with Georgia as a kind of support to enable me to enjoy my first year. And it's not just governance, it's not just kind of meetings and helping to form and shape and steer the organisation, getting involved in a little bit operationally, which is why I'm here today enjoying the celebration and schmoozing with the dignitaries.

00:02:26 Belle

So obviously I know you said you've worked in your role for a long time. Have you noticed any changes pre and post COVID?

00:02:35 Julia

Massive. Huge changes in volunteering. Lots of research has been, in the last few years, discovering the new landscape for volunteering. 

When I started at SCVS, volunteering was kind of heavily involved with retired people. There were roles that were very dominant. Volunteering now looks incredibly different in terms of the diversity, thankfully, of volunteers and of the roles.

What we have noticed is, since COVID, volunteering has kind of been more disjointed. There was talks about a volunteer recruitment crisis, but I think in real terms, it's a volunteer engagement crisis and we've needed to change as volunteer involving organisations, not asking volunteers to change. We have to fit around the ask from volunteers and not making them fit into square holes.

00:03:30 Belle

So would you say that, obviously I know a lot of students and people across the world experienced a lot of isolation when it came to COVID. Do you think that volunteering, like post-COVID, has helped people reintegrate with societies?

00:03:42 Julia

It can, but some volunteering roles have changed. So, there's been much more digital volunteering, there's been much more telephone-based volunteering. Some people in COVID times decided to redesign their volunteering. I think that there is an aspect of socialisation and connection in volunteering, which a lot of people don't talk about. We talk about skill building, but just not how much fun and how much friendship you find from volunteering.

I think volunteering today is very different, and I think that's not necessarily a bad thing.

00:04:16 Belle

I think a lot of people consistently have said in the last interviews how volunteering is very good for building connections and stuff, but on the basis of skill building, do you think that volunteering or working in the role that you did in university has aided your career?

00:04:33 Julia

Yes, I mean I certainly have been able to speak about my experiences at interviews and on application forms, especially in my early career. And now, as a trustee of Discovery, if I was going for another job, I'd certainly be mentioning that. And I think that would show the level of kind of management experience I've got now. Whereas perhaps my day role, in some senses, isn't as senior as my trustee role. So, I think you definitely miss a trick if you don't describe the experiences you've had from volunteering.

And we know that, you know, perhaps 80% of employers are keen to see volunteering on potential employees' CVs and on their application forms, because it indicates that quite a lot of training will be done, that people have got team skills, that they've kind of been able to connect in different ways to the community. And that kind of bodes well, doesn't it, for an employer?

00:05:33 Belle

And just to close out the interview, if you could describe volunteering or Discovery in one word, what would that word be?

00:05:39 Julia

Inspiring.

00:05:40 Belle

And why is that?

00:05:41 Julia

You meet so many people in the world of volunteering in all of its aspects, either as staff, trustees, other volunteers, service users or clients, whatever your project calls them, and just community members that you would not have met if you had not been in that role. And there is, you know if you are in some sorts of employment, you get an idea of the world being quite negative. If you’re a volunteer or involved in a volunteering project, you get an idea of the world in a very positive way. So it does switch you on and inspire you and remind you that the world around you is a better place than you thought.

00:06:24 Belle

Amazing.

Well, thank you so much for speaking with me today. Thank you.

00:06:28 Julia

No problem. Thank you.