Audio Technology student provides sound advice to pupils at his former secondary school

An Audio Technology student has provided some sound advice to pupils at his former secondary school, with the hopes of educating them about the world of sound engineering.

Second year student Ryan Smith, a former pupil of Williamwood Highschool, has had the opportunity to give back to his school by delivering a presentation to help introduce key topics around audio technology.

Ryan, who currently volunteers at the school as a Multimedia Technician, was invited to speak with pupils by a teacher who heard about Ryan’s positive university experience.

“I was speaking to the Technology teacher about my university course and she ended up asking me if I would like to come in to talk to her pupils about it.” Ryan explained.

“I came up with a presentation and got her opinion what she would like to me to specifically talk about, for example tailoring it to what they were currently learning about in class. It let me bridge the gap between what they are learning in secondary school and how it links to what we learn in university.

I thought ‘That sounds like a really interesting idea!’ and decided to take her up on the offer. I thought that this would be good to do to help them see the context of what they’re learning about and how they can use it again in the future.”

As someone who is already so passionate about the subject, it was easy for Ryan to share his knowledge with the pupils. He said: “I’ve always been passionate about audio, ever since I was a child. In Primary School. I would be the person volunteering to help with the sound desk and even teachers would ask me to help with their sound issues, etc!

I found it all really fun. When I transitioned into secondary school, I got more hands-on experience with audio and my general interest in technology helped me gravitate towards Audio Technology in general.”

When choosing what to talk to the pupils about, Ryan decided to begin with the basics of sound and how their schoolwork links to real life subjects.

He explained: “I discussed the basics of audio technology because I realise that some people may look into it and think about using something like a mixing desk. It’s about looking into how the mixing desk would actually work; what is sound and how can you get sound to go into the mixing desk?

Not many people would think about it in that way, so I wanted to make sure I could cover the basics of sound, how microphones work, how sound comes out of a speaker, etc. I also shared my actual experience of university and how it helped me further my learning.”

He added: “I got the chance to present to students who were about to start their National 5 classes, as well as pupils studying their National 5s and their Highers so it was a real mix of people! Despite being at different school stages, they all equally enjoyed it and they seemed to be really engaged with what I was doing. Even the teacher said that she had learned a couple of things as well!”

In school, it’s designed to teach you what you need to know; not necessarily what you want to know. I found that telling them about audio technology would hopefully inspire them to think about how their subjects can link to a future career.”

Now halfway through his degree, Ryan appreciates how important early-career exposure can make a real difference to pupils thinking about their futures.

He said: “In school, I felt that I was the kind of pupil who didn’t always see the point in the subjects that I was learning until I learned about how the subjects can be actually used towards something in the ‘real world’.

I studied science based subjects and maths but didn’t feel too interested in it as a subject, until I saw how it linked in to my interests in audio and technology. I really hope I’ve helped the pupils get a bit of a head start into thinking that way too!”

By Rachael McAlonan

Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media