Here at York College & University Centre, we believe it’s important to ensure our students have a voice and are listened to and heard.
Our Student Union ensures the student body and the College work collaboratively together to increase student wellbeing and satisfaction, embracing student advocacy to implement positive change.
The Student Union is made up of the following:
Student Union President
Student Union Vice President
Student Union Officers
Student Union Representatives
Student Union Members
The President, Vice President and Officer roles are elected by the Student Union membership, ensuring the Union is a group run by the students, for the students.
The Student Union is open to all students, and it's important to both the College and members to have a range of different students, regardless of age or programme of study.
President & Vice President
The President and Vice President of the Student Union are the main representatives of the Student Union, overseeing the Union and supporting Officers and Members.
President - Poppy Winters, second year A Level student.
Vice President - Mimi Browne, second year Performing & Production Arts (Backstage Arts) student.
Student Union Officers
Student Union Officers each have an area of responsibility/focus, with the roles including:
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Officer - Louisa Lenton and Khawla Haigh
Publicity Officer - Maddie Frost
Events & Campaigns Officer - Sarah Craigen
Mental Health & Well-being Officer - Theodore Gluza and Emily Jones
Progression Officer - Kieran Pearson
Clubs & Societies Officer - Annabelle Craven
Career & Employability Officer - vacant
Sustainability Officer - vacant
HE & Adult Officer - vacant
Learning Support Officer - vacant
Student Union Representatives
Student Union Representatives are elected for each tutorial class. Their duty is to lead discussion and collate feedback from tutorial group sessions, which they will then discuss with the rest of the Student Union.
Student Union Members
Student Union Members can submit their application and join the Union in various capacities, whether that be sharing their thoughts and ideas, or playing a more active role in attending events, contributing to discussions and being part of the student voice.
Student Voice - to clearly advocate for the needs of all students, which can and will benefit the whole College community. We believe that every individual student has a contribution to make to the College, for our peers and an improved student journey. The Student Union aims to gather the unique perspective of students, into a collective mechanism for growth, change and development of the student experience.
Personal Development Opportunities - to increase the engagement in College-wide activities and initiatives to develop social and cultural capital.
Student Community - to foster a democratic, inclusive and diverse student community.
"My responsibility as Student Union President is to take on a supervisory role and to make sure each member of the Student Union completes their tasks. Each officer has their specific areas that they focus on, and I oversee everybody. I provide help and support to the other officers, it’s a bit like a Project Manager role.
My main focus at the moment is advertisement and I’m excited to work on this. I’d like to spread awareness of the union. I’ve created posters and QR codes and slides for tutorials. We’ve also got a diversity event happening soon which we’ve all worked together on.
I’d like to raise awareness so that more students can get involved and have a say on topics throughout College.
Looking forward, we’d like to do some mental health and fundraising events."
"My role is to help manage and oversee the student union as a whole. I help the Student Union Officers devise their plans on what they want to achieve within their role. I help the officers get to the right people in College. Myself and Poppy (Student Union President) are often link members between the Student Union and the wider College.
I was part of the Student Union last year. I was the Mental Health and Well-being Officer and I had a really positive experience. I worked with some lovely people within the union and across College. Working with the Well-being Team was great, and I wanted to take that further. I aim to help other Student Union Officers achieve their goals and ambitions like I did as an Officer."
"My role is to ensure that the College is inclusive to all people of all backgrounds, religions and cultures. I try to make sure there are equal opportunities for people as well as equity.
I help to give people what they need for their specific circumstances and work closely with the Mental Health and Learning Support teams.
I joined the Student Union in my first year as I think it’s important for people to be able to use their voice. This year I applied again as diversity and inclusivity is very important to me as someone who grew up from a minority background."
"I attend meetings with the other Student Union Officers to share ideas. From here, after sharing our thoughts, I then break off to focus on my area with the other Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Officer.
I thought it would be a great opportunity to be part of the Student Union and I’m really enjoying it so far."
"My role involves promoting College and the events we put on. I help with advertising the Student Union and encourage more people to get involved.
I joined the Student Union because wanted to contribute to making College be the best that it can be. I wanted to be able to share all the great things that College does. I wanted to show that there is a lot more to coming to College than just lessons, there’s a lot more exciting activity going on."
"I focus on the events and fundraising that we run in College and in the Student Union. I help plan and execute these.
I wanted to develop my leadership and teamwork skills. I thought joining the Student Union would be a good opportunity to prepare me for higher education after I finish my studies at College."
"As part of my role I would like to propose an event that celebrates different cultures and nationalities. This is important to me also as I am from Poland. This will be our first event and it’s about raising awareness about different cultures across the College. It’s an opportunity for international students to engage more with the rest of the student body. We’d like to remove any barriers that they may be facing.
I wanted to be part of the Student Union because I’d like to make a difference in College alongside my studies. I felt that being in the Student Union would gain my a lot of different skills that I could use later in life also."
"One of the first things I did when I joined the Student Union was to help out at a well-being event. We work closely with the Well-being Team at College. We handed out hot chocolate and played board games. The aim was to provide a relaxing environment for the College community. This has now become a weekly event.
I wanted to get involved with College and the student experience. I wanted to help and hopefully improve things.
I’m also considering a career in psychology and becoming a therapist, so I felt that this would be great experience for me to go into a career like this."
"I help students with their progression after College. This involves support with their UCAS applications which I do with the support of the Progression Officers and Progress Coaches at College.
The role is to support students with their next steps after completing their studies.
I joined the Student Union because I wanted the opportunity to get my points across and because I wanted to have an impact on College life."
"My role is to provide a link between the students at College and the staff members who are able to facilitate the rooms and the more practical side of running a club. I speak to other members of College to support them to set up clubs if they have an interest in this.
I look at the timetable of clubs across College to make sure it’s up to date and I make sure it’s an extensive offering that represents the diversity across College.
I joined the union because I thought it would be a good opportunity to develop my leadership skills. I also thought it would be good experience to attend meetings and liaise with different people."
Do you have any questions, or want to find out how to join our Student Union?
Contact us via email: su@yorkcollege.ac.uk
Current vacancies include:
Career & Employability Officer - vacant
Sustainability Officer - vacant
HE & Adult Officer - vacant
Learning Support Officer - vacant
