An update from Summer, your VP Activities
Sup!
My name is Summer and I am your Vice President Activities.
I graduated with a degree in Sport Development and Business in July 2016. During my time at LJMU I worked as student staff at LiverpoolSU, was a Student Trustee and started the International Society. When I started the society there were only 7 members which grew to over 160 by the time I left, and really it was what made my time at uni so special.
I absolutely love to travel and have recently been to Japan to study the language. I equally love dancing around the house in my PJs and chocolate! I also love meeting new people so if you ever see me on campus please stop by and say hello!
‘But what do you DO?!’
My job is to lead the Students’ Union and make sure that the Development and Activities department have students at the heart of everything they do. I’m also passionate about all students having the opportunity to get involved in extracurricular activities whilst they are studying at LJMU.
My department also gets to work on some pretty great projects, such as Varsity and the Loves You Awards (awards thanking our club and society volunteers.)
Unfortunately I don’t just get to run around playing badminton or socialising with the cheese and wine society, another large part of the job is working hard to improve university life for students. I do this by sitting on weekly university committees to ensure students voices are represented in any decision making by the University.
As officers, we also work with other unions to fight for student rights locally and nationally.
Goals for the Year
When I ran to be your VP back in March I decided to work on three main things. Here’s an update on my progress so far:
Objective: Create a structured system for societies to engage with the VP Activities and LiverpoolSU
Progress so far: I have worked with the marketing team to create a brand for societies which we showcased at Freshers’ Fair in our Societies village! Societies are now supported in a number of new ways, from help with funding to being featured in a weekly email and newsletter. I have fought for and received an additional £5000 grant pot just for societies, approved 19 new societies this year and aim to visit all societies over the year (12 done so far!)
Objective: Creating a community of engaged LJMU students who identify with LiverpoolSU and the university
Progress so far: I led a campaign to choose the first LiverpoolSU mascot - students have made their choice and the big reveal is coming in Jan 2017…
We’ve created a brand, Activities @ LJMU, that includes both Societies @ljmu and #TeamLJMU. This was used at Freshers’ Fair and is being used for all of our communications with student groups. We now communicate regularly with student groups with weekly updates featuring a club and society of the week, plus a BUCS update and any other news in activities. I worked to ensure student groups got the most out of Freshers’ Fair by contacting them in August with info on how to run an effective stall, as well as creating and sharing a guideline document with hints and tips. I’ve also worked to create a cub and society mixer!
Objective: Research the PGR student experience and create a report with recommendations for union/university to better serve this demographic of students
Progress so far: I have completed a project plan, contacted other unions and looked into other research projects in this area, and met with key university staff to gather info and gauge interest with PGR students. This project will launch in January 2017, so watch this space and let me know if you want to get involved!
