My third and hopefully hottest (weather-wise) week as Community Officer. 

I started off the week with a lovely chat with Sian Creagh-Osborne, who is a project manager for the Mental Health Charter. It was really great to get a better understanding of my role as Student Lead as well as an overview of the progress made so far.  

On Tuesday, I attended a B&NES Drug and Alcohol Strategy Meeting, which was hosted at Guildhall. I found it interesting to meet other local stakeholders and it was a great opportunity for information sharing.

There were some more 'manifesto hacks' this week; I particularly enjoyed the sustainability session and I'm looking forward to further conversations in our team about how we can embed sustainable practices into our work across the year.  

I also had a great conversation with Liz Stoneman, one of the advisors in the Advice & Support Centre, about Look After Your Mate – a Student Minds' campaign that aims to equip you with the skills, knowledge, and confidence you need to support friends having mental health difficulties, while also looking after your own wellbeing. I am sure to have more updates on this in the future, but if this has peaked your interest I would recommend checking out some of their resources. 

On Thursday, Lily Rumsey, Director of International Relations, came and spoke to some of the officers about the work of the International Relations Office (IRO). I really enjoyed speaking with her about how we can work together to improve the international student experience.  

And finally, we've also had some graduations this week for 2020 and 2021 graduates! I feel very honoured to be part of the procession and to have the opportunity to speak at some of the graduations.

Thanks for reading!

Blake x

Links in plaintext: 

Mental Health Charter - https://universitymentalhealthcharter.org.uk/ 

Advice & Support Centre - https://www.thesubath.com/advice/ 

Look After Your Mate Overview - https://www.thesubath.com/advice/personal/lookafteryourmate/ 

Look After Your Mate Resource - https://www.studentminds.org.uk/uploads/3/7/8/4/3784584/interactive_laym_guide.pdf 

International Relations Office - https://www.bath.ac.uk/professional-services/international-relations-office-iro/