We can't believe it's that time of the year again where we need to say goodbye to some of our amazing Full-Time Officers
“Alexa, play us a sad song...”
It's that bittersweet time of year again when we have to say goodbye to some of our current Full-Time Officers - and welcome in new faces!
At the end of this week, we will sadly be saying goodbye to Esyllt Rosser (President), Gwern Dafis (Societies & Services Officer), Tom Kemp (Welsh Affairs), Izaak Morris (Education Officer) and Jonny Davies (Sports Officer).
Esyllt
Elected back in 2021 as your Societies & Services Officer, at the start of this academic year Es made the jump to President. During her time as President, it became apparent that the Cost-of-Living crisis wasn’t going away, and students would require additional support.
Amongst other initiatives with the University, the Union worked to provide weekly breakfasts on both campuses, as well as a weekly food bank with the support of student volunteers.
Es has been a champion voice on behalf of students, lobbying the University for additional support and funds, and this is showcased through the amazing scope of work accomplished. She has also worked tirelessly to secure funding from the University to refurbish our on-campus Students’ Union nightclub!
Gwern
Initially serving in 2021 as your Welsh Affairs Officer, during his time as Welsh Affairs Gwern worked with several different societies, and this ignited the passion to switch roles to Societies and Services Officer for this year.
As Societies & Services, Gwern has spent a lot of time on the development of societies, this includes creating an “Adopt a Society” scheme which offered students the chance to reignite dormant societies.
Gwern & the Student Engagement Team have also been busy facilitating development meetings for incoming committees to help them get a headstart on the year ahead.
Tom
After joining us in the summer of last year, Tom hit the ground running in his Welsh Affairs role, improving the Welsh Language provisions within the Union.
He revised and updated our Welsh Language Policy and established the implementation plan to provide a clear structure for how to best action this and improve the use of the Welsh Language within the Union.
He has also continued to work with Academi Hywel Teifi, Coleg Cymraeg, and the University to ensure that students studying through the medium of Welsh are able to submit work in their language, be assessed in their language, and also hold meetings with their Academic Mentors through the medium of Welsh.
He has continued the partnership with Myf.Cymru to ensure our students have access to mental health support in Welsh.
Alongside all this, Tom had the opportunity to draw on past work experience and collaborated with our Business Development Manager to upgrade some of our office spaces.
Izaak
Joining us as Education Officer in the summer of 2022, they have worked closely with the University to facilitate a Rep Review to strengthen the partnership and streamline the provisions for our Academic Reps.
Alongside this project, they have also worked tirelessly on numerous policies with the University, most notably work on Academic Mentoring, Academic Misconduct, and Extenuating Circumstances.
They also supported Refreshers in January, a successful event that linked the Union up with January Entry students amongst others.
Jonny
As Sports Officer, Jonny has worked hard to encourage involvement in sports by all students, hosting various Sports Days, including ones for Cricket and Volleyball.
After his election in the summer of 2022, he has continued to facilitate and support events the role is known for such as Ladies Day and Varsity. Alongside this, he continued to realise his dream of Green Collar Boxing, a sporting event idea he brought to the Union as a student, and got to grow and develop this year, hosting two during this academic year alone.
Abigail
However, “Alexa, play the show must go on...” Abigail, your current Welfare Officer, will be joining our incoming Officer elects for an exciting year ahead!
Stay tuned for their welcome posts and what they get up to this upcoming academic year.