Experience & Community Officer Blog

Hi everyone and welcome to the first of my many blogs to come! 

This month by far has been one of the most challenging: from waking up earlier than I’d like, to being in a three-hour long senate meeting, I have learnt so much about the student’s union and the university as a whole!

My colleagues and I have been taken under the wings of our senior members of staff and have been trained by them in a range of things, my favourite being the colours of fire extinguishers. We also filmed a lot of stuff for the SU, so please be prepared to get sick of seeing my face everywhere.

We also took a day trip to Leicester to meet other university elected officers in 30-degree heat in a room with no air conditioning! Despite the temperature, it was a lovely day, I spoke with so many different people and gained a deeper insight into how other students unions work. Leicester SU also have so many food options, I ate loaded fries that were cheeseburger themed (10/10 would recommend). 

Another fun thing we did was do speeches on behalf of the student’s union at graduation and participated in the procession! Both events were so nerve wracking but exciting. I couldn’t believe that before I graduated, I was sat as part of the procession at the front of the chapel! It was so lovely seeing so many students and their families celebrate their achievements. I fear I was fighting back tears all week. 

(Please cut me some slack for my face in this picture I beg I had to screenshot the live stream lol)

I also graduated on the 16th of July! I cannot get over how fun this day was. It was also another day where I fear I was fighting back tears AGAIN.

Another big win we got was finalising a Wilder Fight Night! This means that Keele students are going up against each other in a boxing ring for charity!

As of right now: I am planning Movember and OddBalls events with the relevant ambassadors to raise as much money (surprise surprise, I’m returning to Movember hehehehe), tying off loose ends of my training and following on from things that Corey started. We’re also gearing up for freshers week, and making sure that students can get the best welcome to university life as possible. Best believe there are some great things coming your way!!

In a nutshell, I’m really excited for the academic year to start. 

Networking and Collaboration with Other SUs (Aberystwyth, Staffs, etc.)

Over the past six months, I have visited several Students’ Unions, which has been incredibly beneficial. These visits allowed me to learn what other SUs do well and where they face challenges, giving me ideas on how we can continue to improve at Keele. I was also able to observe tactics used to boost student engagement and understand how different officers operate.

This has helped shape me into a more student-facing officer and has encouraged me to communicate more directly with students across campus. I’ve worked closely with the Voice, Experience, and Venues departments and look forward to bringing the best of what I’ve learned back to Keele SU to support meaningful change.

Officer Tries – Launching This Week

Officer Tries is a new initiative where I invited all clubs and societies to sign up for me to join in their sessions, try their activities, or support them by creating fun content. The goal is to help promote groups across campus, shine a spotlight on what makes them unique, and encourage more students to get involved.
This week I’ll be reaching out to all the groups who signed up and will begin attending their events, I’m really excited to get stuck in!

Winter Ball Planning Underway

We have now officially planned and confirmed the date and venue for the Team Keele Winter Ball, which will be held at bet365. Planning is progressing well, and we look forward to delivering a high-quality celebratory event for all our sports teams.

Movember – We Raised £8,411!

This year, Zoe and I co-led Movember alongside our ambassadors, supporting them in planning events, running stalls, and boosting participation. We attended everything from charity rugby matches to a 24-hour spinathon  and even climbed Snowdon in a blizzard!
Everyone came together, showed up, and helped us raise more than double last year’s total. A massive thank you to our Ambassadors, Amrit and Tata, who were incredible in coordinating outreach, setting up events, and driving this success.

Supporting All 150+ Societies and Clubs

Throughout the year, I have been actively supporting all societies and sports clubs, helping them with their needs and ensuring they have what they require to succeed. From resolving issues to promoting their events and assisting with planning, I’ve aimed to be as accessible and responsive as possible.
I’m really proud to say that every society and club has been doing fantastically well so far - from increased event turnouts to improved communication and stronger committee engagement. Their hard work and passion genuinely show how vibrant our student community is.

Diversity Festival

We delivered a successful Diversity Festival celebrating the cultures, backgrounds, and identities that make Keele unique. The event featured a variety of live performances, cultural showcases, food stalls, and opportunities for students to share their traditions.
It was great to see so many societies take part, collaborate, and bring the event to life. Feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive, and it highlighted how important events like this are for representation and community spirit.

Christmas Light Switch-On (1st December)

On the 1st of December, we kicked off the festive season with our annual Christmas Light Switch-On. We hosted a range of local vendors, festive stalls, and live performances from societies. It was a brilliant atmosphere, with students coming together to celebrate the start of Advent.

Meeting with BUCS Officers – Trans and Non-Binary Participation in Sport

I met with BUCS officers to discuss the EHRC guidance and the participation of trans and non-binary individuals in sport. During the meeting, I emphasised the importance of ensuring sport remains accessible and welcoming for all students.
We also discussed creating a centralised document or webpage that clearly outlines participation rules, pathways, and guidance in one place, rather than having this information scattered across multiple sources. This would help students better understand how to engage with sport at Keele.

Hello again! 

We are officially in December now, and over the past few weeks I held the first AU Council of the year, with a room full of attendees, we discussed topics such as transport, sports strategy and AU ball. A lot of feedback was gathered which will be put to great use over the next semester.  

The first Soc Forum of the year was also held, with a record-breaking number of attendees. We discussed the issues with room bookings, and the new solutions, as well as new society socials, and  

I have also had the opportunity to join the We Are Staffordshire's’ Youth Advisory Group, alongside other key representative from youth organizations across Staffordshire. In this group we can feedback directly into what would make life in Staffordshire more attractive for young people. The first in person meeting is next week! 

Zoe and I went to meet the Student Services team over in Claus Moser and spent an afternoon packing free period products to give out to our students as part of the universities striving to end period poverty.  

We attended the beautiful armistice day remembrance service held in the chapel by the wonderful team of chaplains to recognize and remember all lives lost through war.  

The officer team attended a moving service held by Keele LGBTQ+ society, in solidary with our trans community. We felt it was imperative to show commitment to the #NeverOK campaign, as there is no place for transphobia on our campus. 

We all travelled down to London to attend a conference at Westminster University to have conversations with many other elected officers and learn other students' union approaches to current topics such as cost of living, as well as sharing some of our own strategies in the hopes of creating a more positive experience for students across the country. 

Have a very Merry Christmas, and Happy Hannukah, Yule or whatever celebrations you take part in over the next month!  

Sophie 

Welcome to my first blog post as your Experince and Community Officer!!! 

So since I started back in July, I've spent the first two months in training, learning everything I can about university processes and different sections, and meeting lots of new people, some in very executive positions. September was mostly just spent preparing for Welcome Week, where we accepted 8 new societies, and had the club and society sign up fair, where each and every club and society got to showcase the awesome things they're planning to do this year.  

I gave several graduation ceremony speeches over summer for all of the 2024 graduates, including my own Forensic MSci peers. I also gave out several ‘Introduction to the SU’ talks, both visiting different introduction sessions in each subject, and giving talks to freshers who came to the SU. 

For welcome week and the first week of studies, I managed to get all students 40% off at Harper Collins, the book publishers, and our book club were able to extend that offer for the first month. They were also given the option of 30% off for any 'book of the month' which come from Harper Collins.  

In October, I have been working with each of the club captains/presidents to create one document with all information relating to how peoples gender identity and their sex assigned at birth affects which competitions and trainings they can attend. This document is specifically for trans and non-binary students so they can have all the information in one place, and they are not forced to possibly out themselves and hopefully avoid any conversation they may not want to have.  

There is now currently a space in The Hub where you can get free plates, bowls, cutlery, glasses, mugs, pans, and mostly other kitchen equipment bit also other bits and bobs for free. This is all under the great donate scheme where all the items have been donated by Keele students and staff who no longer need them. 

There have been multiple societies that have reached out to me about an issue with timetabling regarding the room booking confirmation. I have been in contact with timetabling, and this is something which is larger than just societies. However, there is now guidance as to what societies, and other student groups who wish to use a room can follow should this happen again, so that there is no detriment to students. 

We held diversity fest last week which was a great success and we managed to fill the whiteboard full of greetings from all over the world, plus we gave out 300 free noodle pots.  

Looking forward to an awesome November and December! 

Sophie 

Thursday 8th February 2024

Welcome to my latest report on what I’ve been up to, this is everything I’ve done since the last UGM on Tuesday 5th December.

Society Spotlight, Club of Keele and Execs Give it a Go!

• As part of changes to this year's campaign, our AU and Societies Executives attended these sessions, which was a major success!
• Applications will reopen for semester 2 in the next couple weeks so keep an eye out!
• We had 7 applications from clubs and 8 from societies, with a total of __ sessions attended by __ of our executives.
• I am planning long term changes to the campaign and integrating taster sessions year-round as part of weekly AU activities so if you want more info or have any feedback on these changes please come along to our AU Council on Wednesday 21st February, 6pm in the Squirrel (come in social attire!).
•  

BUCS AGM and Fees

• Before the winter break, I attended the BUCS AGM where an increase in membership fees was decided.
• Fees will increase by 6.1% for next year, this will have a knock-on effect on the AU membership fees for the 2024/25 academic year as these new fees will need to be reflected in the price, what this price will be hasn’t been decided yet.

On the same note as AU Council, we also have our next Societies Forum also in the Squirrel the following day, Thursday 22nd February 5pm – 6pm so please come along! We will be discussing important society topics including the new freedom of speech legislation, don’t know what that is or why you should care? Come along and find out!

Semester 2 Events prep

• I have been helping with prep for Society and AU Awards, AU Summer Ball, and Varsity, as well as planning for This Keele Girl Can I hope to launch next month, keep an eye out for updates on these and for our annual Varsity competition next month!