Over the last couple of months, I’ve been working hard to get ready for the year ahead. Adjusting to a completely new role has definitely been a challenge and there’s been a lot to learn, but I’m excited to get stuck in and hopefully get some great results for students.

I attended the NUS Lead and Change event in Leeds, where we heard from speakers from Leeds University and NUS before getting into groups with student reps from across the country. It was a really valuable opportunity to talk about how we can better represent students, share some of the issues our students are facing and learn more about what’s happening across the wider student movement.

While I was there, I met a Rep from Lancaster who was interested in our Take Me Home scheme. Since then, I’ve been working with him and sharing what we’ve learned to help them get something similar set up at Lancaster.

Since starting my role, I’ve also attended my first Students’ Union Board meeting. Being part of the Board means I get to have a say in decisions about how the SU operates and how we can best serve students. I can’t share everything that gets discussed in Board meetings, but there are some exciting things in the works, so keep an eye out!

A big part of my first couple of months has been meeting the people who keep the SU running and figuring out how we can work together over the year.

I’ve had regular meetings with our CEO, Stef, who has been helping the whole Rep Team settle into our new roles and answering the many questions I’ve had along the way! I’ve also been working closely with Hannah, our Director of Membership and my mentor for the year. She’s been helping me develop my priorities and understand what I can realistically achieve, as well as helping the Rep Team get student petitions set up on the SU website.

I’ve met with our Comms Team to talk about how we can use social media and other channels to keep students informed, and I’ve had a couple of meetings with Ian, our Social Enterprise Manager. We’ve been discussing ways we can make Lampworks more exciting, as well as some of my plans for the year and how we can work together to make them happen.

I’ve now met with every department across the SU and started building those relationships, which will hopefully help us turn some of my ideas into action over the year.

Finally, I’ve been spending plenty of time with the rest of the Rep Team. We’re in constant contact, sharing ideas and looking at where we can work together on different projects. I’ll also be supporting Alicia with her work to make the SU more accessible and transparent, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together over the year.