This has been such a fun year, and I am very proud to be part of such an amazing team. From raising awareness for Mental Health, wellbeing walks, sitting on decision-making panels, to being a Trustee of the Undeb. There has been such a range of things going on this year, and it has been wonderful to see firsthand the impact on the student experience that the Undeb has. To keep it brief, I will stick to my top three highlights of the year, reflecting on the things I have not only loved being a part of but those that have helped me grow as a person, too!
First up, raising awareness for OCD through having events and creating information videos with Elain. Elain and I are both passionate about raising awareness for OCD, a mental health disorder camouflaged in myths and taboo. We set up a ‘Chill and Chat’ session, a place for people to meet like-minded individuals to share experiences and open up discussions. We had two brilliant guest speakers. We had Non Parry, a Welsh singer, who is in the group Eden, speak about her live experiences and Victoria Wright, a psychologist and lecturer and Aberystwyth, who spoke about some research she has been conducting. I was so pleased with the conversations and feedback we received. OCD is something that often isn't spoken about, and I think people's appreciation that we were having these conversations showed.
My second highlight was setting up the disabled student advisory board and running a disabled student focus group. The main focus of the role of an officer is to represent the voices of students. Setting up the advisory board and having the focus group session embodies that. The focus group session we had was brilliant, students were incredibly engaged, and I have been able to create a strong report from that. The information and takeaways from that session have been passed on to the relevant members of staff for consideration. I am also incredibly grateful to everyone who participated in the focus group, whose openness and honesty about their experiences made this report possible and I know that University staff were very grateful for the feedback and those who I have spoken too are taking it on and using it to improve initiatives.
My third highlight was redesigning and revamping the wellbeing room. The wellbeing space is a great space for people to use however they wish. It is often used by students to take some time out of their studies and relax during the day. It was a nice space, but it wasn’t cared for as it should have been. So with the help of the wellbeing team at the Undeb, we revamped the staff and student wellbeing rooms in the underground. We made the spaces more interactive with activities and crafts available. We collaborated with Phyte Club, who donated some plants to the room to make the space greener.
Being able to represent student voices and speak at meetings with University executives has been an important and positive experience for me. I am very grateful to have been elected into this role. I have grown as a person and learnt many valuable lessons along the way!