Discover your Students' Union - here to make sure your voice is heard
5th September 2022
Did you know that all students at the college are automatically members of the National Union of Students (NUS) and that we have an active Students’ Union working on your behalf?
The Students’ Union is here to:
- Listen to you and make sure your voice is heard
- Help you access the advice and support you need
- Bring students together so you get the most out of your time at college
- Inform you about what’s happening at college and wider NUS campaigns
- Help you set up and run student clubs and societies
- Bring you details of great discounts and offers for students
- And much more!
Find out more and get involved: Come and say 'hi' at our Freshers events at the start of term. Or drop into the Students' Union Office, on the ground floor of the Norwich Building.
Introducing your Students' Union President
Your Students’ Union President for 2022-23 is Lewis Pepperell. Lewis has recently finished a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business. We caught up with Lewis to find out more about him and his plans for the Students' Union.
What can the Students' Union do for students?
The Students' Union plays a key role in college life. This can be seen by the fact that the position of SU President is a full-time sabbatical role, contributing directly to decision-making as a member of the College Senior Management Team. I can put students’ opinions forward. That’s a very positive thing for the SU that we do have a very strong voice.
We are also here to hep students if they have any problems. We can help by raising any issues you may be experiencing with the college, as well as pointing you in the right direction to sources of support.
At the end of the day the college is about the students, about the students’ experience, and we want the students’ experience to be the best that it can be and for your days at college to be ones you really remember.
How can students get involved?
I’d like to encourage more students to come forward and get involved as Student Reps, and make them aware of what we do, and make them feel that that’s something they want to be a part of. Then you get a better overview of what students actually want as a whole. Ultimately that’s what the SU is here for, to make sure that the student voice is actually heard. By having more students involved, that is the best way to get a good array of views of what students actually want.
I want to make sure that the same opportunities are given to students from all sites. I plan to go to Easton and Paston regularly, and I hope to have good Student Reps there, to make sure the student voice from those sites is also heard.
What qualities will you bring to your new role as SU President?
I’m not a shy person. I quite enjoy meeting new people and speaking to people. I like solving problems. I feel like I’m going to be doing a lot of that over the next year. Ultimately I want to make the students’ day-to-day lives a little bit easier at college, and make the experience a little bit more enjoyable.
What are your priorities for the Students' Union this year?
I want to make the Students' Union a place where students feel comfortable to pop in and voice their problems. If they need anything, they can speak to the Students' Union.
It would be good to have more clubs and societies for students to get involved with, because then they can meet students with similar interests from across the college. It’s definitely something to get people back together after Covid. That’s something that is very important, getting people back to feeling comfortable socialising.
Finally, some quick-fire questions about you:
What's your favourite colour?
Orange.
What sorts of music do you listen to?
My taste in music is extremely strange! I don’t really stick to one specific genre of music. I like a bit of everything. I think it’s because I studied music at high school.
What do you do in your spare time?
I've recently started scuba diving. It’s definitely something that allows you to properly de-stress and relax. That’s what I really enjoy about it. It’s something I’d recommend everyone to try. I do quite like a bit of fishing as well. It’s quiet. You can’t go at 100 miles an hour all of the time.
What's your favourite food?
I'm a big fan of a kebab, or a Chinese.
What sorts of things do you like to watch?
I watch all sorts of different things really, whatever's on. I quite like a bit of action, it’s interesting and engaging to watch. My personal favourite has to be the Kingsman films. I also like a police series, Police Interceptors, things like that.