It has been a privilege to work as a Student Voice officer for the last two years as a student at Buckinghamshire New University, and it is sad to say goodbye to one of the most rewarding roles I have had throughout my time at Buckinghamshire New University.
This role was introduced in September 2024, and I applied immediately after seeing the email. As someone who has worked within their education institutions to support student voice since high school, this seemed like a brilliant opportunity to apply the work I had done for students as a high school student and continue it during my time at university. That does not mean to say you need to have a perfect background experience to enjoy a role like this; all you need is a passion for change, a want to improve the experiences of people around you and that you care for the student voice and you not only want it to be heard, but you want to work alongside students to ensure that the student body can see that they are being heard and supported.
My experience as a Student Voice officer was nothing but positive all the way through, with members across the student union and fellow students ready to support you and whatever idea you had for the university, and working hard with you to make that idea a reality. For example, when I first became a student voice officer, I had noticed in a lot of classrooms and study spots that there were a lack of places that students could charge their devices which would not only impact their studies if their laptops or tablets die, but can be a impact of safety if students had nowhere to charge their phones, so working alongside the Representation Team and the Students Union across the Buckinghamshire New University Campuses we were able to place charging ports within campuses as well as place more sockets within classes and study spaces. Even now, as I am working on accessibility across the High Wycombe Campus, I have worked closely with Elected Officers, the President of the SU, as well as staff within Representation, to ensure that the campus is accessible for all students, as well as working on how we can increase accessibility and support students across all parts of the student experience.
I have learnt a lot through my time in this role and have developed my skills and who I am as a person. It is an amazing team to be a part of, and I would always recommend that you put yourselves forward for this type of role within the Students’ Union. Working as a member of the Students’ Union, you work with an amazing team who are extremely inclusive, who do everything they can to support you to ensure you get everything out of this role, as well as helping you balance your work with your studies. I am very thankful that I was able to work at the Students’ Union to improve student life and ensure the student body was heard, and to have another opportunity to be involved in change. It was an amazing experience to take part in, and I have achieved lots for the student body in terms of student safety, inclusion and accessibility.
Thank you. It has been a pleasure to serve as a student voice officer for the past two years.
Freya