Community Impact
Gef’s 30 Under 30 Winners: Q&A with Adam Drummond
Ten categories. Thirty young visionaries making their mark on the Isle of Man. Introducing the all-new #Gef30Under30 winners: the next generation of our island’s leaders.
The H&B Community Impact winners find meaning in supporting and teaching those around them, and are shining examples of how small actions can have a positive effect for generations to come.
What is your name and age?
Adam Drummond, age 20.
Job title or role in the community?
Assets manager and CyberCenturion team leader at Code Club, and working with Love Tech, BCS (IOM), and UCM.
How did you start your career or role in the community?
It began nearly 10 years ago when I first joined Code Club as a member. Over the years, I got involved with many activities including an array of coding courses (it’s in the name!). I built a collection of robots and took part in a list of cyber security competitions. In the past few years, I have got more and more involved with the week-on-week running of these courses and events to the point where, in 2020, I was invited to join the newly formed committee, as the club’s Assets Manager.
Tell us about your business/industry, is there something interesting about it that most people wouldn’t expect?
There’s always something interesting with computers and students! For example, did you know that the Isle of Man holds a 3rd-place World Champion in Microsoft Word (that would be me…) or a three-time UK champion team in a cyber security competition (one of our CyberCenturion teams at Code Club)? We really do have some highly skilled individuals/groups over here that should be given more recognition than they receive.
Tell us about why you think you won the category you did?
I think that I won the Community Impact category through my work with both UCM as a Student Ambassador and the three charities I volunteer with – BCS (IOM), Love Tech and the main one, Code Club. This is because I have had an impact on the life of many local students through the multitude of offerings we have, such as the CyberCenturion competition, where I have led multiple teams to the National Finals in England. I have also been into local primary schools teaching kids to code, which was enlightening to say the least!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
No matter what opportunities are thrown your way, take them. You never know what the result could be, whether it leads to seeing family you haven’t seen for years, exploring the streets of big cities or if it takes you to the other side of the world competing for your country. If you don’t say yes, who knows what you could miss out on?
What do you wish you knew when you were getting started in your career?
It will all work out eventually (at least that’s what I tell myself now!). Still being in education, my answer to this is rather subjective as I’ve not technically started a career… However, I look at my education and wish I knew that it would all work out back when I was just a small student opening the door to high school.
What does being a Gef 30 Under 30 winner mean to you?
It’s great to be recognised for the work I’ve done through Code Club across the past few years, especially as the only two-time Gef 30 Under 30 winner. From countless hours I have put in, to creating great experiences and a great environment for the students at Code Club, and our away trips, to enriching the lives of primary school children with coding; it is fantastic that my work is being seen by those outside of our little Code Club world.
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