Cameron John Jones
To whom it may concern:
I graduated from UCL in 2018 with a B.A. (2.1) in Spanish and Russian and have experience of both the NGO world and Ukraine and the Former Soviet Union. Since graduating, I have consolidated my Russian by travelling and teaching. I have worked in Moscow and Ukraine teaching children from five to fifteen years. Money I earned teaching allowed me to travel widely in Russia and other countries in the region such as Kazakhstan. Teaching included language camps in Ukraine to teaching the children of business people in Moscow and, for a short holiday period, with a Russian family in Italy. I also have extensive experience of working in NGOs as well as experience of the business world, working at KPMG Moscow.
As I had enjoyed my school gap year internship at RACI, an NGO in Buenos Aires, I was keen to do something similar and further improve the skills that work at the Argentinian NGO had taught me. I was given approval by UCL to take up an internship I had applied for working with an NGO in Medellin, Colombia, Fundacion las Golondrinas, which works with children displaced by the Colombian Civil War. Here I gained a number of skills in administration and organization, ranging from setting up meetings and corresponding with clients, defining terms of references for different projects undertaken by the NGO and making sure the site’s website was regularly updated. The experience not only helped me improve my Spanish and get to know neighbourhoods in Medellin that are often overlooked, but also further cemented the necessary organisation, communication and communicative skills required for work in the NGO sector.
After my internship in South America, I returned to Moscow in the summer for an internship at KPMG, where I was able to immerse myself in a fully Russian speaking working environment. I further used the office management skills I had learned in the NGO world and applied them to the corporate world. My work involved a mixture of research into different areas, such as insurance fraud, as well as running administrative errands for the forensic accounting department of KPMG in Moscow. The experience working at an auditing firm helped me improve my attention to detail, increase my interest in financial systems and my ability to meet deadlines effectively.
Following my time at university, I opted to spend two more years away in the former Soviet Union, teaching English privately in Russia. My work as a ‘governor’ required me not only to teach the child English, but also to make sure that his day was well structured and organised. During the coronavirus crisis I returned home and taught foreign languages online for local schools. Howell’s School (GDST) asked me to design two modules for their adapted online Year 11 and Year 13 offer. I designed a Beginners’ Russian course and a Spanish course, Spanish in a Global Contextthat focused not only on language, highlighting the different regional kinds of Spanish, but also on Spanish and Latin American culture, history and politics. I was then asked to teach the Russian course across the GDST network of schools, with the courses I have designed now being offered in states schools throughout England and Wales. I have enjoyed teaching and it has allowed me to both work and travel fairly flexibly and freely, but I see my future not in the classroom but
I am a keen sportsman: I played for Cardiff Blues development squad at school but had to give up in Year 11 after a serious injury which took two years to get match fit again. Unable to play rugby, I took up the martial art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. At university I started playing rugby again for UCL and East London RFC. I continue to practise jiu-jitsu and train regularly, which keeps me physically and mentally fit and disciplined.I have a keen interest not only in the language but also in the politics and culture of Russia and Ukraine. I regularly keep in contact with friends I have across the two countries, as well as reading in depth about the history and current affairs of the region.
Personal Details:
Address: 13 Cwrt Y Vil Road Telephone: 07730676141
Penarth Email: [email protected]
CF64 3HN Date of Birth: 07/10/94
Vale of Glamorgan
Qualifications:
2014-2018 – University College, London. B.A. (Hons. 2.1) Russian and Spanish
2006-13 – Stanwell School, Penarth.
2012 – AS Level French (A), History (A), Politics (A), English Literature (B)
12 week extra-mural course in Russian, Cardiff University
2013 – AS and A Level Spanish (B), A Level French (A) and A Level Politics (A)
Awarding body for all: WJEC
Employment History:
March 2020-Teaching online for Howell’s GDST school in Cardiff, South Wales. Following the Covid-19 crisis and teaching’s resulting switch from the classroom into the home, I was offered a role in online teaching at a Girls’ Day School Trust school near me. I designed two of my own online courses, one titled ‘Beginners’ Russian’ and the other ‘Spanish in a Global Context’. The former is an introductory language course to Russian, using the skill set I gained during my CELTA and teaching abroad. The second was a hybrid, cross curricular course that focused not only language, highlighting the different regional kinds of Spanish, but also on Spanish and Latin American culture, history and politics. Both courses were used not only by Howell’s School in Cardiff, but across the entire GDST online network
November 2019-February 2020 –Bar work at Holme House, Penarth and CELTA course. Worked briefly at a local Hotel and Restaurant behind a bar to pay for a CELTA course, accommodation in oxford and future travelling/living abroad. Celta course, Oxford. I then successfully completed the course to add a further string to my teaching bow. My report card emphasised my ability to plan lessons effectively, with my most notable asset being my ability to create rapport and engage students in studying English as a foreign language
July 2018- November 2019 – English tutor. Series of short-term contracts teaching English to children aged 5 – 15. Contracts were short term but well paid which enabled me to travel throughout Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Employer: English Nanny Recruitment Agency, Moscow. UK office: 5-11 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 4UA
June 2019 – Two week language camp in Ukraine through agency study.ua in between contracts with agency above. I taught classes of 10- 11 year olds English as a foreign language. Also involved in extra- curricular sports activities.
Employer: study.ua
Aug-Sept 2017 — Internship where I researched and created two reports, one on risks of insurance fraud, and the other on the accounts of KazakhTelekom.
Employer: KPMG, Moscow
March – June 2017 – Internship at NGO in Medellin, Colombia that helps children displaced by the Colombian Civil War. I helped organise activities for the children and ran an English speaking club. I also assisted the foundation in obtaining grants and organising a variety of events, such as booking speakers.
Employer: Fundacion las GolondrinasCalle 50A #41 31, Medellín Colombia.
Sept – Dec 2013 – Internship at NGO in Buenos Aires, Argentina where I analysed data to write grant applications.
Employer: RACI, Sánchez de Bustamante 191A Buenos Aires
Referees:
Juan Mauricio Giraldo OlarteSally Davies (Head teacher, Howell’s School, Llandaff)
Address: Fundacion las Golondrinas Address: Howell’s School Llandaff, Cardiff Road,
Calle 50A #41 31, Medellín ColombiaCardiff, CF5 2YD
Tel no: (Whatsapp)+573122686497 Tel no: [email protected]