This past year I have had opportunities and experiences like no other and you guessed it, this was not the year I envisioned when I went for AEO. To summarise a year of work at the Guild in one blog is impossible. I’ve deleted what I have started to write numerous times and I keep getting stuck on what to say.
Tobi asked me recently what my biggest takeaway from the Guild was and I gave the answer that you never know what’s around the corner and that can be a good thing. This year has given me so many opportunities and experiences that I never would have had if it were a normal year as AEO. Personally I came to University with this big 5 year plan and each year it changed and adapted based on my experiences during the year. That even runs true to this day, as based on the way things have panned out this year, my next career move has changed and that’s a great thing. So many people are afraid of the unknown and don’t get me wrong, there can be bad, unexpected surprises or events, but not knowing what comes next is exciting and helps you grow. The person I am now and the opportunities I am looking to pursue have rooted from my year in office.
Now I can’t have a blog about my wins without actually mentioning some officer wins. You can see my 'big' wins on my attached graphic, so I’m going to talk about some wins that happened behind closed doors.
Careers Network
The relationship between Careers Network and the Guild is something I’ve put a lot of time and effort into this year. With the introduction of a new director I saw this as a chance to identify opportunities for collaboration, and to this end there are some really exciting projects coming up next year! I’m so proud of how far the Guild and Careers Network have come and I’m grateful for our colleagues in Careers Network.
Student Groups
If you know me, then you’ll know that I’m a very student groups conscious AEO - not to say that I didn’t give equal attention to other areas of my remit, but I’ve worked very hard on societies and what the Guild offers them. Knowing the impact COVID would have on groups I can proudly say I shouted about societies at every opportunity and I ensured that, when the Guild reviewed its strategic plan, societies played a key part.
I also organised small projects like Connected Christmas, gave societies extra opportunities to find new members and advertise what they did, wrote society blogs and created welcome week posts all about societies, allowing them to know I was there to help. I’ve supported societies every step of the way, but any society win such as Guild Awards is not just down to me, it's down to the Student Groups Team and the societies themselves. It’s been a pleasure to see how our societies adapted to COVID and witness their progress throughout this year.
MedSoc
I’m not sure how many students know that MedSoc and all of their societies sit with the Guild, but they do and I also support them as AEO. Working on how we collaborated and supported MedSoc was a key part of some of my work. If I took a policy or idea to the activities committee, I also took it to MDX to hear their thoughts and opinions. We’ve also seen the recruitment of designated MedSoc coordinators who’ve worked so hard to support our fantastic medical societies. Finally, I can very proudly say MedSoc will continue to be part of the Guild Awards and that they are being fully integrated into society induction and training.
Activities Committee
Activities committee was a new committee introduced this year following the democracy review last year, which meant it needed shaping and we got to see how it worked in its infancy. Following autumn elections we managed to elect an exceptional group of students who were all engaged and raring to go. It has been a joy to work with the activities committee and get feedback on any ideas or policies I took there. It’s also been great to change how we run student group grants. Instead of societies having to apply for grants at the start of the year for the entire year, there will now be three opportunities to apply for grant money. There have been a lot of wins with the activities committee and I believe there are more great things to come from its second year of existence.
Redbrick
Finally I have to mention Redbrick! It’s crazy to think that the first print I proofread was also my last. I won’t count all the articles I’ve approved this year as it is likely close to 500. But it has been a pleasure to read articles written by our students about matters that are important to them, new stories about what is going on, reporting of events and updates about our sports teams. The team all work so hard and supporting them in all the work they do takes up a lot of time, but is absolutely worth it.
I well and truly have had the best year as AEO and I keep telling people if I could stay forever I would, because I wholeheartedly love my job. I am eternally grateful for all the opportunities created for me by the AEO before me, and all the curveballs COVID has thrown my way (as odd as that sounds). The Guild team is amazing and works so hard for the student population. Finally I am so grateful for the officer team who have supported me endlessly throughout the year, and we made it through a year like no other.
The best of luck to Josephine, who I know will absolutely smash her time as AEO. There are some really exciting projects waiting for her to get running with and remember, while you never know what’s round the corner, the unexpected can lead to a fantastic year!
This is ‘Flamey Amie’ burning up her AEO blogs for the final time.