Chloe Fauvette, a Silver Duke of Ed Awardee overcame her fear of heights and is now more confident than ever thanks to her Duke of Ed experience. Read Chloe’s story below.

The First Step

The main reason I wanted to do the Award was because my brother had done his Bronze Award and “he is good at everything he does” so I wanted to do one thing better. I also wanted a challenge and am not really good at sports, preferring arts and crafts. However, I wanted to improve my fitness level and do something that was outside my comfort zone.

A beat in my feet

I participated in Zumba for the physical recreation section and although it was difficult at first and I got out of breath very quickly, I stuck to it. With a fantastic instructor and great music overtime I came to enjoy the physical section and look forward to it.

Barely surviving Survivor Camp

For my Adventurous Journey I went on a very challenging ‘Survivor Camp’. I was scared of heights and there were activities that involved climbing high up into the sky, such as the Flying Fox and the Giant Swing.  I was well and truly out of my comfort zone! During my trial journey, I was not able to go all the way to the top however, I overcame my fear and finally went all the way to the top with my whole team cheering me on – I was so proud of myself.

The ‘Survivor Camp’ was my favourite part of the Award. I was anxious at first about doing some activities, but I was able to overcome my fear of heights. Looking down while I was up high was frightening, but I persevered and succeeded.

“You can do anything if you set your mind to it”

While undertaking the Duke of Ed, I met lots of people from various aspects of the Award and made some very good friends. I learnt that if I put my mind to it, I could do anything! I believe more in myself now and I am more confident.

The Adventurous Journey and Zumba proved to be a big challenge for me. I was always anxious and afraid at the beginning. However, I fought hard to stay motivated and not give up. I learnt to trust myself and my team members.

The results were amazing.

Not only did I learn valuable life skills, I became more responsible, independent and made wonderful lifelong friends. I feel so proud of myself and I was so happy to receive my Silver Award and pin. I have finally beaten my brother at something! I would definitely recommend the Duke of Ed to others.

Believe in yourself! You can do anything if you set your mind to it and work hard to achieve it.