SU Awards 2017 - the Results
Last Thursday in The Forum Hertfordshire, we celebrated the achievements of student groups and individuals as part of our annual Students’ Union Awards. From your nominations, we recognised students, staff and other people who you believe have contributed hugely to student life and improved the student experience here at the University of Hertfordshire.
Here is the full list of all our amazing winners!
Student Staff Member of the Year
The winner of Student Staff Member of the Year was awarded to Student Engagement and Research Assistant Charlie Pearson. Charlie has established the Students Union’s mystery shopper programme and supported many different departments when needed, including for Fresher’s Week and when there has been staff off sick. Julia Sanderson and Wesley Pearson were both highly commended, with their work as student staff being recognised as exceptional.
Society Event of the Year
The winner of Society Event of the Year went to the Expressive Society for Evacreate, an event they hosted in February. They worked really hard over 2 months to put on the production, giving many students and graduate entrepeneurs the opportunity to showcase their brands. The Highly Commended societies were the Hindu Society for their highly attended and inclusive Diwali event and also the collaborative event organised by the both the Pole and Aerial Society and DJ Society.
Society Committee of the Year
The Pole and Aerial Society were also the deserving winners of Society Committee of the Year. As well as putting on a fantastic performance on the night, they have always ensured that their sessions ran smoothly and without their work, the Society would not have received the success they did this year. The highly commended winners were the Entrepreneur Society and the Midwifery Society who have both worked tirelessly to put on great events and classes for their members.
Student Rep of the Year
Student Rep of the Year was Hinal Gandhi from Hertfordshire Business School. Despite facing medical issues this year and being in and out of hospital, Hinal has always been looking for ways to help students and was able to effectively juggle this along with her studies. The highly commended winners of this award were Jessica Scivier and Yanista Arnaudova for regularly engaging with students in their school and going above and beyond what has been expected of them in their roles.
Volunteer of the Year
Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Simone Bothwell who has logged over 200 hours for Scouts alone and can always be relied on. As well as volunteering with the Scouts, she has also led a food drive for the food bank, delivered books to Uganda at her own expense, volunteered in a Ugandan hospital, fundraised for other charities and more! The highly commended winners were Sophie Chapman and Laura De Haan, who have also contributed hugely to deserving charities.
Volunteer Project of the Year
Enactus Society won Volunteer Project of the Year for Motiv8 which supports secondary school students with low self-esteem and helps them to talk about sensitive topics. Their project Bold, set up to empower women in Kenya living with HIV through entrepreneurial actions, was also highly commended.
Outstanding Contribution to Trident Media
Hannah Wileman took home the award for Outstanding Contribution to Trident Media. She has shown great levels of energy and passion in Trident Media across the board over the past few years, as well as taking up various committee positions. Tobi Olasupo and Matt Dowse were highly commended, being essential and reliable members of Trident Media who have helped to continue to progress the student group.
You’re Awesome Award
This year, the You’re Awesome Award went to UNO Bus Driver Neil. If you have ever found yourself running for the Shuttle bus and managed to get on, the chances are it was Neil waiting for you! Abbie Sanderson was also highly commended for the amazing work that she does with Active Students.
Society of the Year
The Society of the Year is the Enactus Society. They have been impact driven and supported a range of students with various academic abilities and a range of backgrounds by hosting unique social enterprise events. The Pole and Aerial Society and Law Society were the highly commended winners for making a huge difference to student life at the University of Hertfordshire.
Student of the Year
Aimone Sharif was recognised as Student of the Year as not only does she work part-time in the SU Shop and with Active Students, she is also Head of Editorial at Trident Media. Plus, she is a member of the women’s University Futsal squad and still manages to achieve the grades she wants in her studies! Hinal Gandhi and Suhrab Sayfi were highly commended for their hard work and commitment to their studies, despite facing hardships due to their health.
Most Improved Society of the Year
Most Improved Society of the Year went to the Accounting and Finance Society, who went from 15 to over 50 members in the space of just a couple of months, thanks to the exciting events they hosted! The LGBT+ and Entrepreneur Society received highly commended awards for growing their society numbers and hosting a number of great events.
Change-Maker of the Year
Change-Maker of the Year went to Cage Boons for his selfless contributions to the Black and Minority Ethnic student success working group. He has been committed to enhancing the experience of all students, particularly Black students, challenging the thinking of the group and helping them understand and appreciate students’ perspectives. Zeeshan Khan and Daniel Akinbosede were also recognised with highly commended awards for consistent commitment to helping groups including ethnic minorities, the homeless and domestic abuse victims.
Media Piece of the Year
Tom Rowe won Media Piece of the Year for his video “Over the Edge, a Freshers’ Story”. Charles Smith, James Cantwell, Inderpal Matharu and Oliver Price were the Highly Commended winners. This video was entertaining, engaging and well-received by others and Tom also delivered one of the quotes of the night, saying “What inspired me was my own experience in irresponsible drinking”.
Union Fellowship Award
This year, we had three Union Fellowship Award winners, who were commended for their great contribution to the Students' Union. They were Ollie Read, Bethel Yohanis and Joe Emmerson.
We want to give a huge congratulations to all our winners, highly commended individuals and groups and all those were recognised with a nomination for the 2017 SU Awards. You are the people that make our Students’ Union so incredible!
Here is the full shortlist of nominations for this year’s Students Union Awards below:
Student Staff Member of the Year