July Review: And so it begins!

Graduation Pt. 2: At the Treforest Graduation Ceremonies

Hello. It's Richard here. I'm one of the four sabbatical officers at the University of South Wales Students' Union as the Vice President of Cardiff. I'll be using this blog to keep you posted on my trials and tribulations throughout the year at USWSU.

What I've been up to...
The first month has been a busy one. I feel a bit like I've been chucked in straight at the deep end and I've had to learn fast to keep up with the pace. Here's what I've been working on...

• Got some feedback on the ATRiuM Students' Union building and discussed future plans to improve it.
• Worked on an Academic Manifesto with the Sabb Team to try and shape the future of education at USW.
• Graduated from my degree in Radio then sat on the stage at two graduation ceremonies the week after in Treforest.
• Had meetings to discuss the Student Charter and the reshaping of the rep system (course reps, SVRs etc.) following the merger.
• Attended NUS training in Carmarthen and Milton Keynes and also in-house training.
• Discussed the housing situation in Cardiff with the council and Cardiff Union's Welfare Officer with a potential awareness campaign in the works.
• Had a 'visioning day' with the sabbs and Union staff to discuss the direction of the Union for the next couple of years and how we can provide a more evenly spread Union experience across all five campuses of the University.

Scribbles: Some serious notes at the Academic Manifesto meeting

Freshers Update

So been pretty busy then you could say! But there's plenty more to do and Freshers is now only about six weeks away. Speaking of which, you can find out more about all the events going on in Cardiff at the excellent Getting Started website that's just been launched. There you'll find a complete list of events happening over Freshers at the ATRiuM and beyond. It's definitely worth a look. On the menu are meet and greets for Postgrad, local, community and mature students, a film and curry night, two Student Media drop in sessions and a cupcake making challenge (where, presumably, you can have your cake and eat it!)

Get Involved

Finally I just wanted to give a shameless plug to the by-elections that are coming up in October for the remaining Student Council positions still vacant in Cardiff. It's an exciting time to get involved and be part of making the Students' Union experience in Cardiff better than ever before. There's also the chance to earn a bursary while you're at it. You could be a campus officer and work on improving facilities at ATRiuM or Cromwell House. You could be a LGBT, Black Students, Students with Disabilities or Women's Officer.You could put yourself at the heart of our activities by being a Sports or Supported Activities Officer. Or you could represent International, Post Grad and Part Time, Mature or Welsh students. If you are interested in any of these, please feel free to drop me a line and I'll keep you in the loop so you'll have no problems running for a position in October.

That's all for now. Talk to you again shortly.

Cheers,

Rich