Exeter Chiefs’ Callum Pope has seen his outstanding commitment to bettering his life through the club’s HITZ programme recognised by winning the 2021 HITZ Young Achiever Award.
Supported by Wooden Spoon, the Young Achiever Award recognises and rewards a young person who, by overcoming a range of challenges, has worked hard to progress on their journey back to education, employment or training.
Having previously battled with severe social anxiety before joining the Chiefs’ HITZ programme in 2019, Pope’s stellar work throughout the programme and his subsequent apprenticeship working on HITZ saw him claim the award.
During lockdown, he was assigned several students to both support and mentor. Regularly checking in with them, Callum used his own personal experiences with isolation and depression to help support them to deal with the challenges brought about by Covid-19.
HITZ is Premiership Rugby’s flagship employability and education programme, supporting young people to make positive changes in their life.
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