Over 4 years later

It seems that I have a problem with keeping this blog up to date :S This blog has not been updated between Monday, October 23, 2006 and now (Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010).

I have recently started up a new blog documenting my creative side with projects, and artwork, and photography. If you would like to see what has happened now I have almost finished growing up, check out my new blog 'The Creative Adventures of LittleMissPip'

Yet another course!

Today was spent on yet another course! In complete contrast to IOSH,people in the office rave about CMS. The General Manager did the course and only a few years later took up his post with Kent Union. I am excited about all the tools that the course is going to teach me. I am hoping to make real changes in my role which is in desperate need of structure and procedure, so fingers crossed CMS can deliver.

Those dreaded words - Health and Safety!

Today was the third of my five days of Health and Safety Training. If you mention the word IOSH in my office, there is a strange murmuring the echoes around the room, some will burst into laughter and some will rush out of the room to be sick! I had been looking forward to this course though as it is five whole days away from the office which I really needed! I have learnt a lot on the course so far - mainly lacking in my training, which I have already delivered to the students, and so I have spent much of today trying to work out how to rectify this problem! (While trying to still listen!)

It has also been good to meet people who work for somewhere other than Kent Union. It has opened my eyes to how little I have moved on since graduating and I am now at last beginning to accept the inevitable - I am no longer a student, I am indeed a young professional graduate. Scary! I have yet to work out the logistics of what this means in terms of the way I live my life but am excited to begin to take steps forward. Will I make it? I suppose the most important question right now is - will I survive IOSH?

Training

Before term started I had this rather naïve idea that I could train all the society committee members before I went on the ever exciting IOSH course. I was of course wrong. The students did not seem to grasp that yes, they do need to be trained again this year even if they went through the training last year. What seems to have slipped the attention of around 60 of them! is that I will freeze their budgets if they do not make contact with me by the end of next week!! Yes I have that power and I am not afarid to use it! Its my neck of the line if the societies budget gets out of control so watch out!!

I finally appreciate that famous phrase!

There just really aren't enough hours in the day. With the students back I now need an extra day to deal with their queries, on top of the entire day which is taken up with spreadsheets!

My First Freshers Fair

When I began my job the skelton plans for the Freshers Fair had already been put together. It was not until the week before that I was able to finally start to work on it myself. From the look of the pictures I think I did ok?

No, in all seriousness, it was a team effort and we all achieved excellence. We even managed to clear up in record time which kept Alister happy! Again something which requires a great amount of skill!

I was really in my element on the day, it was great to see so many societies showing of their stuff and so many Freshers embracing the University experience and getting involved. It was a perfect setting for the NUS President and VP Education to come to Kent and speak about Admission Impossible. They were given a real sense of what student life at Kent is all about. They were not the only people to be impressed by the day, as after a visit from the judges around the busy midday period, Kent was shortlisted for the Times Higher ‘Institution of the Year’ 2006.

The story so far....

I am now almost two months into my full time post with Kent Union. A former employee of the Big V nightclub on campus, I took the leap across the road from the Licensed Trade Department to the more complicated world of Student Activities.

I did not originally apply for the role of Societies and RaG Co-ordinator, but was asked to apply after missing out on another position. It was initially very unnerving to be handed the responsibility of almost one hundred societies, a charitable trust, and a budget! Never mind to have to work so closely with a sabbatical who is, and quite rightly, guided by politics, which I have to juggle with the logistics of operational reality! It has been a hectic start but hopefully I am doing ok so far!!