I'M
ARJIN AKTAS.
PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE
CHOREOGRAPHER
I am Arjin. I am a psychology graduate, dancer and choreographer. My main focus is on self-expression, and I believe that expressing feelings is vital to having good mental health. I was one of the four co-founders of Toybox UK, which was a mental health start-up company that aimed to reduce the stigma and promote affordable and various kinds of mental health support. My role was to choreograph pieces that express mental disorders, as I believe dance is a great way to express feelings. My goal was to normalise neurodiversity and the overall expression of both positive and negative thoughts and feelings through dance. You can see these videos here!
I am currently based in London and I am looking for work opportunities. Please feel free to contact me on my email or instagram as you please!
01 psychology
Let Me TELL You
03 Experience
Dec 2020 - Jan 2021
Romildamor, UK
Voluntary Turkish Interpreter and Capacity Builder
I am currently volunteering with Romildamor as a Turkish interpreter where I translate from Turkish to English and vice versa in real-time to allow smooth communication. This experience is incredibly valuable to me, as it allows me to develop my skills of handling sensitive and personal information, and translating from one language to another much faster. I am also one of the Capacity Builders, focusing on therapy support. I am aiming to find ways of developing our survivors' psychological wellbeing and teaching them healthy coping mechanisms as well as increasing the mental health support available. .
Dec 2020 - Jan 2021
Nesne Psychology Journal, Turkey
Translator and Proof-reader
I have proof-read over 5 psychology papers that were translated from Turkish to English, to make sure they were written using correct terminology and in line with the APA format. I have also translated a research paper from Turkish to English within four days and explored different ways of sentence formation. Working with flexible deadlines as such has increased my ability to structure my days and increased my self-motivation to accomplish tasks.
May 2018 - Sep 2020
Bishops Finger, Canterbury
Bartender
I worked as a part-time bartender during university and this has allowed me to make my own living, as well as gain valuable skills. I have learned to work as a team, make quick decisions when faced with problems, and be observant, as it was one of our responsibilities to ensure our customers' safety in the pub. I have also developed conflict management skills, both within my team and with unhappy customers. As I was doing this job alongside my degree, dance classes and volunteering, I have developed great time-management and organisational skills and learned to study efficiently. Further, I have adapted to the 'post-corona normal' during July 2020, and learned to be authoritative when customers did not follow the covid safety restrictions.
Nov 2019 - Jun 2020
University of Kent, Mentoring Scheme
Mentor
During my final year at Kent, I have volunteered to be a mentor to year two Psychology undergraduates. I met up with all five of my mentees and initiated our interactions in a professional yet approachable tone. I have developed great listening skills as well as problem-solving and signposting abilities to help my mentees reach their individual goals.
Feb 2021 - Current
IGAM, Turkey
Voluntary Teacher
I am currently teaching two refugee children Turkish over Zoom. This means I need to know the curriculum, prepare classes and engage the children over Zoom. As they are members of vulnerable populations, I am learning to be respectful, understanding and accepting of the difficulties they face and how that reflects in their behaviour. I am learning to adapt my teaching to the children's abilities and interests, as well as building a relationship with them.
Oct 2019 - Current
Toybox_UK
Co-Founder & Choreographer
Three colleagues and I are currently in the process of establishing our own mental health company called 'Toybox_UK'. We aim to reduce the stigma attached to mental disorders as well as to offer a wide range of information on different types of mental health support available. We host monthly zoom-rooms called 'get comfortable being uncomfortable' where we talk about the mental disorder of the month and allow our followers to share their personal experiences. We believe that by expressing the experiences and feelings about mental disorders, we can stop the demonisation of them, and therefore help break the stigma. See @toybox_uk on Instagram to find out more.
Jan 2020 - March 2020
KSS CRC, Kent
Volunteer
During my final year of university, I have volunteered with Kent Surrey and Sussex Community Rehabilitation Center to help ex-offenders settle back into society. I have been to a three-day training and I have completed my online training which involved 'mental healt at the workplace', 'drugs and alcohol' and many other modules. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, I was unable to meet a service user.
Sep 2018 - Dec 2018
University of Kent, Kent Dance Society
Contemporary Dance Co-Teacher
I have co-choreographed a contemporary piece and co-taught it to a big class. Me and a colleague gave 12 formal classes overall, and met up with dancers outside of class time to support their individual needs. This experience taught me how to respect and understand another dancer's vision while staying true to mine. The choreography itself told a story, and it won 'Best Class Choreography' award from the Kent Dance society. It was called "Us" and performed in the Fusion Show 2018.
Sep 2018 - Jan 2019
University of Kent, RES
Voluntary Research Assistant
I was a voluntary research assistant with the "Research Experience Scheme (RES)" at the University of Kent. RES is designed to help second year undergraduates learn research skills and prepare them for their dissertation. My responsibilities as a research assistant included contacting participants, collecting informed consent, making sure participants complete the study correctly, and sending their data to my supervising researcher. This experience has helped me develop my time-management and organisational skills. Further, it allowed me to experience being the researcher rather than the participant for the first time.
Sep 2015 - May 2017
New English School, Kuwait
Environmental Club and K'S PATH Leader
K'S PATH stands for Kuwait Society for Protecting Animals and Their Habitats. My responsibility as an environmental club and K'S PATH leader was to support and motivate my group to attend our beach clean-ups and shelter visits, as well as ensuring their wellbeing during these events. Me and my team have designed t-shirts, badges and games to raise funds for the shelter. We also organised an informative stand in a busy mall where we gave speeches to individuals about Kuwait's marine life and the various ways of protecting it.
Jan 2018 - May 2018
University of Kent, Kent Dance Society
Choreographer
After taking contemporary dance classes with Kent Dance for one term, I decided to choreograph my own routine! I took initiative to choreograph my first piece and teach it to a class of 13. I directed over 15 formal classes as well as taking time to meet up with dancers outside of class to help them improve on their individual needs. I have gained great leadership skills from this, and managed to establish positive and long-lasting relationships with my dancers. This choreography was performed in the Annual Show in May 2018.
Jan 2016- Jun 2016
New English School, Kuwait
Voluntary Teacher's Assistant
I volunteered to do reading with year 3 students once a week. My main goal was to improve their pronunciation, reading speed and comprehension. My role gradually evolved into an overall assistant where I would sit next to children who needed more support during science and math classes to ensure student engagement.
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