My First week in office (gone wrong...):
June 15th comes along, my contract starts. It is the first week in office and I am excited and raring to go. I had just completed my Placement Induction Session with the university, who stressed on how important making a good first impression was. Little did they know, the first impression that the Operations Team, and the Chief Operating Officer of the Student’s Union would have of me would be where I had accidentally locked myself in a meeting room, in the office…. Below are some photos for your reading pleasure, I do not believe I need to explain myself any further… Not only was this embarrassing on a whole new level that I didn’t think was possible. I went to my desk the next day, only to find the culprit (the dodgy lock that had locked me in there in the first place) on my desk, taunting me...
Yes, you can see my phone in the window of the (in this moment) locked door, with a photo of the lock (the culprit being on the right), trying to explain that I could not unlock the door from the inside. I don’t think anyone can top my extraordinary first impression.
Second week in office:
After being set free from the above, I made my way down to Loughborough. Here I attended a conference held for Midland’s Student’s Unions to address the discontent held within Unions that had National Union of Student’s Membership. I took with me valuable student feedback, that I had acquired before my term in office. My first conference where I represented students!!! Here I connected with CEO’s and other Officers, discussing finance concerns, governance concerns and also what went well within the NUS. This was all in aims of formally approaching the NUS and enacting change within the organisation. Overall, I found it quite enjoyable, I learnt a lot from it, and I was able to close a feedback loop that I had with students. Loughborough’s Student Union was blissful during the megalithic heat wave that set upon destructing the UK at the time, as it had full and working air conditioning. I was living the dream. Representing Students in a Climate controlled environment – This is the luxury!!!!
Second Conference (I have lost count of the weeks):
My second conference was held in Leicester University (not to be mixed up with DeMontfort University, to which I almost attended instead). Here I partook in Trustee Training whilst also gaining key connections with other University Student Unions. One of these Universities was Staffordshire University. I shan’t be going into the lore and rivalry that Keele and Staffs have, but let’s just say they will not be winning varsity this year... Leicester Student’ Union was again air conditioned, which was a lovely feeling, especially when you have just drive in the scorching Saharan heat that climate change has inflicted upon us. I enjoyed the brutalist architecture of Leicester University, I felt like I had just come out of post-communist Russia.
I am particularly proud of this photo, hence the full page spread.
And finally, Graduation week. Commencing 13th-17th July 2026:
This is the biggest week of my life. Not only was I able to practice for my own graduation in two years’ time. I was able to literally do everything – even Hannah was amazed at how much I was able to do. There are three main categories:
Mace and Bedel:
The Mace and Bedel lead and follows the procession of academic staff, university council, and also the Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and/or Chancellor (how many times can I say chancellor challenge.)
The Bedel bears a baton as a symbol of office; they lead the procession into the ceremony (held in a gorgeous non-denominational chapel by the way??) and assists the party to the platform. The Bedel was commissioned and introduced in 2014 to take responsibility for the dignity of the ceremony.
The Mace Bearer bears the ceremonial mace (made primarily out of 925 silver) and is a traditional symbol of authority. The mace is around 3ft 6” and is split into three sections. On the top third, it has inscribed: ‘Presented to the University College of North Staffordshire, by the Newcastle-under-Lyme Corporation, 1956’
On exit of the ceremony, the procession is led by the mace bearer who bows to the conferrer first hand. They are then followed by graduation students in order of academic precedence. Followed by guest, friend and families of the graduates.
I have loved every minute of these roles, and I am truly grateful that I have the opportunity to both Mace bear and Bedel bear. The following pages are dedicated to the photos I took during these roles.
Figure 1 Myself and the Bedel, Infront of the Library
Figure 2 Myself and the Mace Infront of the Library
Figure 3 Myself with the Mace and Bedel
Figure 5/6 The front and Back of the Mace
Speeches:
As a representative and leader of the Student’s Union, I was able to deliver speeches at some of the graduation ceremonies, in rotation with my fellow officers. I had been nervous of public speaking, as the last time I had done one, was running for Head Boy. But I managed to pull it off. For this I had to wear the graduation gown, with a hood. I got congratulated many times as people though I was also graduating, but unbeknownst to them I was just rehearsing for my graduation in two years’ time. Muahahahahaah!!!
At points during my speech, I caught myself saying words incorrectly, and even made eye contact with people, and watched them panic, when they made eye contact with me. This made me laugh and you can see this in the image below. I was having the time of my life!
I have concluded that I like giving speeches.
Other Shenanigans, I managed to pull off:
I mentioned to Hannah, that I work In Argos/Sainsburys in Newcastle, and that I sometimes go into the Tannoys to give announcements. She kindly told me that the graduation ceremonies have ‘Tannoy-like’ announcements. My reaction to this information was: ‘I will be on that Tannoy announcement’. She told me to prepare for rejection, as she believed that they would not let me do it. She was wrong. She was amazed at the sight and sound of my voice echoing throughout the center of campus telling graduands to make their way to the chapel, as the ceremony would start soon.
Hannah now knows that when I have a will to do something, I will find a way.
Another thing that I had managed to do, was receive a professional photograph of myself in the Mace and Bedel procession gown! I found myself cheekily asking the photographer if I could please have a photo taken, to which she responded, ‘Yes of course!’ She took my photo and printed it off free of charge, one for myself and one for my parents.
Some other photos that are worth mentioning:
My desk, in the office – I love a corner
As you can see, I am very engaged in my very important meetings
Pictured above are my fellow officers and I, Infront of the Library.