Since the last Council meeting, it has been a very busy and rewarding period representing students and working across a range of welfare, inclusion, and student experience initiatives.

One of the highlights was working on Derby Day, which turned out to be an incredible event with a fantastic atmosphere and strong student engagement. It was great to see students come together and enjoy such an important part of university life.

I also attended Senate and continued representing student welfare perspectives in wider university discussions. Alongside this, I attended the Faith Societies meeting where I met with societies and Father Mark to better understand the challenges faith groups are facing and explore how we can support them more effectively moving forward.

Over the past month, I had a catch up meeting with Helena to discuss accommodation, food provision, and broader student concerns across the university. These conversations remain important in ensuring student voices are heard and reflected in ongoing work.

Mental Health Awareness Week preparations have also been a major focus recently. I have been working on plans and contributing towards the promotional video to help raise awareness and encourage students to engage with the support available.

I had the opportunity to attend Holi celebrations this term, which was a genuinely enjoyable and meaningful experience. It was wonderful to see students celebrating culture, diversity, and community together.

In addition, I attended a One Essex Inclusivity Group meeting where important conversations took place around discrimination, inclusion, and areas where further work is needed to improve the student experience for everyone.

I have also started attending Demilitarise Essex meetings alongside Alex, as I will be leading this work next year. This has been a valuable opportunity to begin understanding the campaign priorities and ongoing discussions.

At the Student Experience Committee, I continued raising student concerns and contributing to conversations focused on improving university life. I also attended the Societies and Sports Awards last week, which was an amazing experience. It was inspiring to celebrate the achievements and dedication of students across the university. I am also looking forward to attending the VTeam and Staff Awards this week. Receiving two awards recently was a very positive and memorable experience.

Another important area of work has been engaging directly with students and societies. I had a catch up with the Iranian Society and students to better understand their experiences and discuss how we can support them further.

I also attended a mentor catch up session where we discussed my 360 appraisal, reflecting on my progress and identifying areas where I can continue developing personally and professionally.

As part of my officer responsibilities, I chaired the Finance Committee and continued supporting discussions around funding and resources for students and societies.

Campus safety has also been an important focus recently. I met with Tamsin from the Security Department to discuss campus security and ways we can continue improving safety for students.

Additionally, I met with Pam Cox regarding transportation issues affecting students, and we are currently working together on developing something new that will hopefully bring positive changes soon.

Finally, I have continued supporting the Pay the Placement campaign by speaking with students and encouraging them to sign the petition in support of fairer opportunities for placement students.

Overall, this period has been full of meaningful engagement, collaboration, and progress across welfare, inclusion, representation, and student experience work. I look forward to continuing this work and supporting students over the coming weeks.