Thoughts of a foundation student

This week has been, by far, the most exciting week of college. Everyday I have met with new people and been inspired by the work they do. The Student Voice Festival workshops were excellent. Here are my favourite moments:

Monday

The TEL Roadmap Session was led by Paul Vincent. He talked through the projects the team has been working on and demonstrated some of the functions of the different systems. I had been in a couple of the focus groups for these projects so I felt a moment of tearful pride. We were introduced to Chronicle (for learning logs), Gallery, and a new Portal. And I look forward to seeing the growth of these platforms. If you would like to be involved in user testing in the future fill in this form. I highly recommend it.

In the afternoon I got the opportunity to meet our Principal Will Woods along with Moira Lovell. I am not sure they were ready for my level of giddy enthusiasm but I appreciated them taking time to listen to my thoughts and talking through institutional plans. We spoke about all my areas of interest; widening participation, study skills/readiness, practice-based research and alumni engagement. I was delighted to hear that the OCA is moving forward into areas I feel passionate about.

Tuesday

As Tuesday began I went to a writing workshop with Nina Milton. We did some freewriting exercises and wrote pieces inspired by prompts. One of my pieces from the workshop is something I plan to use in my next assignment (and I am so committed to it that I might just pitch it to a publishing house).

In the afternoon I went to another writing workshop, this time it was a reflective writing workshop led by our fantastic librarian Richard Cleverley. I do a lot of reflective writing in my personal life, but have done very little of it in an academic setting. Richard talked through the library skills development courses and generally amazed me with his amount of knowledge. If you haven’t had a chance to meet Richard yet keep an eye on library announcements for next library events.

Wednesday

In the evening I met two of the students who are part of governance groups in OCA; Kirsten and Richard. They spoke about their experience on committees, and I thanked them for the work they do representing the student voice in these meetings. If you would like to volunteer with OCA groups and projects there is more information on the Get Involved webpage, and if you have any ideas there is a suggestion box.

Thursday

The morning began with a workshop led by our wonderful alumna Sharon Butler. Sharon showed us her use of natural dyes and spoke about her research since leaving OCA. As someone who would like to do a research degree in the next few years, her description of postgraduate study was inspirational. Other members of the group agreed. I told Sharon I would love it if she would consider holding another event in the future so we can all hear about where her research has taken her. 

The evening ended with a concert by the BA Music Programme. It felt like a great way to celebrate the end of the week. I sat on my garden patio and enjoyed the music as the day cooled down.

Friday

Friday should have been a scrum day for me, but I had a medical appointment so I missed it. I aim to catch up with the recordings next week.

Phew!