FXU Awards 2018: Activities Ball - Shortlisted Nominees

Awards 2018

Activities Ball Shortlisted Nominees

Sponsored by:

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#FXUActivitiesBall

Click here to check out our awards webpage

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FXU Activities Ball 2018

Hello and welcome to the inaugural FXU Activities Ball 2018 This event features the FXU Activities Awards, which recognise the activities and achievements of exceptional students of the University of Exeter Cornwall Campuses and Falmouth University. This is our chance to show our appreciation of the pro-active and hardworking students who go the extra mile and do so much outside of their studies to shape the student experience at FXU. This is one of the highlights of the year, so thanks to everyone that submitted a nomination, well done to all the shortlisted nominees, and a huge thank you to all that have worked endlessly to make this event possible.

We look forward to hosting you all in May, to celebrate and recognise all the great things that you have done this year for FXU Activities. Here is to a good night! Best wishes and good luck.

Harry Bishop FXU President Community & Welfare

Chris Slesser FXU President Falmouth

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Dean Pomeroy FXU President Exeter

Jamal Clarke FXU President Student Experience

Shortlisted nominee text in this booklet has been taken from student and staff nominations.

Award winners are chosen by an external panel of judges.

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Society Awards

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Most Outstanding Society Committee Member The shortlisted nominees are: Jessica Cammack Jessica is one of the founding members of The Deaf Awareness and British Sign Language Society and since affiliation in September this year the society had developed dramatically. Jessica has gone on to achieve so much in this short space of time, She has organised and managed hosting BSL lessons on campus and ensuring this is easily and fully accessible to the student body. She applied and was successfully awarded Exeter Annual Fund which means she was able to subside costs for her members and ensure the lessons were affordable for staff and students and has made all arrangements with the tutor. The society scored a gold accreditation, which is almost of unheard of in the first year of existence, and this is down to a very dedicated, organised and positive President who has shone this year.

Maisy Inston Maisy has been a dedicated and hard working committee member right from the beginning of this academic year. Her role on FXpectrUm society has ensured that the society offers a host of events from fortnightly socials to regular meetings for their members.

This is crucial for students with autism as they require routine and has meant that they have a regular community network. She single-handedly runs insightful talks on Autism, engaging both members and non-members alike. Maintaining a strong working relationship with FXU and other societies (including the Inclusivity talks collaboration and the Falmouth Anchor), Maisy strives to make sure that FXpectrUm is the best it can possibly be.

Society Awards

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Daniel Wilson Dan has managed to develop FXU Geog Soc, an already very successful society, even further through his strong management and organisational skills. Despite having a large committee of 18, he is able to maintain a good balance and ensures that all committee members and members are valued and appreciated. Geog Soc has grown from strength to strength under his leadership hosting academic events as well as social such as Guest Lectures, Raise the Roof events, bowling trips and the Christmas Soiree. He has gone above and beyond for GeogSoc as president this year and his enthusiasm for his role has seen him thrive in engaging more than just geographers into the society.

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Most Outstanding Society Event or Project of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: Astronomy Society – Star Gaze Event Astronomy society is a new society this year but has already run some exciting events, gaining incredible amounts of interest among the student audience. The most successful event to date was the Kynance Cove stargazing trip which received over 700 interests on Facebook and tickets sold out within a day. Many students were able to practise night photography as well as learn about the stars they were capturing. Event feedback was positive from attendees and members had the opportunity to make their own arrangements or travel in the minibus. Each participant also received a planisphere and a checklist to aid in stargazing and committee members helped people identify what they were looking for in the night sky. No society has done a trip like this before and after only 2 months of affiliation, the society has 62 members.

Don’t DisAbility Society – Don’t Disability Week Don’t DisAbility Week 2018 was a weeklong campaign for collaborative events on campus, to encourage inclusivity on campus, where all students can “Be Supported, Be Included and Be Yourself”. Four short films were released during the week, being directed, filmed, edited, and staring disabled students on campus.

Three films featured members of the society and other disabled students on campus, taking part in activities. This aim of these films, was to showcase how societies on campus are already inclusive, and are accommodating. Valentine’s Day, and was called “Blind Date”. This was the first of this kind of event to happen on campus, and was a blindfolded speed dating event, aiming to break down barriers, allowing people who may be anxious to meet new people.

A panel event was also hosted which included senior management and FXU Presidents where challenging questions covered the topics of mental health services on campus, inclusivity within courses, and how the university is and will become more inclusive.

Society Awards

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Geog Soc – Hudson Talk GeogSoc presented a highly successful sell out guest speaker event by military survival expert John Hudson on “How to Survive Anywhere”. The committee worked hard to advertise within the local community as well as staff and students on campus. They managed to ensure the talk appealed and was inclusive for a wide age range; school children to the elderly were all in awe of the inspirational stories John had to tell. This event brought Geography into the lives of many who usually do not engage with the discipline and survey results from those who attended backed this up with everyone who responded providing great feedback. The talk was breaking new ground for GeogSoc who have never before organised a guest lecture of this size or scale and despite using the largest venue on campus, we still had a waiting list! Our anonymous survey after the event indicated that 95% of those who attended the talk would attend another in the future, showing the event to be a runaway success.

Deaf Awareness & BSL – British Sign Language Courses The society organised for a qualified British Sign Language tutor to come to campus to teach students in evening classes giving people the opportunity to learn British Sign Language for a reduced price. (£10 for members for the whole course). The groups are open to all, whether deaf, hard of hearing or hearing. The teacher was very accommodating. Tickets sold very quickly after opening and the sessions have proved to be popular with staff and students who have all given excellent feedback. The society are organising more lessons for members and non-members in the summer term.

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Most Improved Society of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: Green Living The Green Living society organised a range of different events, trips, and workshops covering different interests and skills for everyone.

The society kept FXU updated on everything going on and many meeting with FXU staff, as well as between the committee planning and organising events, and occasionally with the members.

The society were successful in their green fund application and were awarded funds to support them in their plan to improve the allotments and sustainability on campus. The society has done collaborations with other societies and student volunteer projects such as Veg & Vegan Soc which was also a really progressive move for the society.

Video Games Society The Video Gaming Society (VGSoc) is currently in its 4th year of running and has done a lot of work to improve in this past year with 57 paid members. The recent accreditation score of 29 shows that the society is operating at gold standard, compared to a silver score was 18 last year. The improvement is largely due to increased engagement with FXU in terms of direct contact, regular training sessions and all committee members achieving at least V Team bronze award. They also participated in the new Adopta-Charity scheme and adopted SpecialEffect, a charity that focusses on providing custom gaming equipment for people with physical disabilities and so is a cause connected to the society’s ethos of bringing fun to as many people as possible via gaming.

Members have been engaged and enthusiastic, and the society has adapted its sessions to their wants and needs through the use of polls and asking members directly. As such the society has a member base that’s very close-knit and friendly, one of the things that I think makes this society stand out.

Society Awards

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CSM SEG The society has consistently strived to deliver events and organise talks, guest lectures to come and visit the campus from the industry as well as mine visits across Cornwall and Devon. The society has improved its brand image and increased its awareness with and for the international SEG (a charitable organisation) which does a lot of work with students around the world. The society has also worked closely with the FXU maximise member integration and increase participation. The society improved their accreditation score from bronze to a high silver this last academic year.

Herpetology Society The FXU Herpetology Society provides a fun and educational opportunity for like-minded individuals. There’s events for everyone, no matter if your interest lies in snakes, invertebrates or you just have a passion for animals. Representing such a niche branch of zoology, the society aims to provoke interest in herpetiles and capture the imagination through hands-on events. This year, the society has delivered frequent events, as well as collaborations with other societies including social-based events, Monthly film nights, zoo trips and husbandry sessions. These sessions have complemented our most successful event – handling sessions. Each session attracts even more than the last, with passers-by drawn in to enjoy the unique and rewarding experience. There has been a high level of progression which led to the attainment of the Gold award this year (improving from silver last year), representative of increased efforts by the committee to increase both member-base and member satisfaction.

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Society of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: Don’t DisAbility Society Over the past year, the Don’t DisAbility Society has achieved a huge amount, reaching and thus supporting more students on campus, hosting a wider range of events, raising more money for charity, and collaborating with many other societies and sports clubs on campus achieving a gold accreditation. Events have included, meet and greets, socials in Falmouth, wheelchair basketball training and taster sessions, film screenings, guest speakers, panel events, blind dates and cake sales to name a few. Don’t DisAbility society has become highly recognised and fundamental regarding student support, academically and socially, working alongside student support services and accessibility to help in the effort to make the campus as accessible as it possible and in doing this provided a platform for members to create positive social and structural changes.

Wild Doc Soc Wild Doc Soc (Wildlife Documentary Society) aims to provide its members with industry skills for wildlife film-making, engage with the sharing of science and to promote the broadcasting of the natural world. The main aims of Wild Doc Soc this year were to provide workshops to enable members to develop these skills, show a wide range of wildlife documentaries to educate and inspire, and invite them to attend guest speaker talks from industry professionals to gain unique insights into the field. For example, Chadden Hunter, delivering a talk regarding his life spent as an industry leading producer, Director at the BBC Natural History Unit. Miranda Krestovnikoff and Simon Watt, The Ugly Animal Preservation Society’s professor of comedy! We have a very frequent and diverse range of events for our members with events every week, such as film screenings, film-making workshops, social event, guest speakers and more. The amount of events that WDS have organised to allow this to happen is phenomenal, and is a true credit to the societies committee and members.

Society Awards

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Astronomy Society Astrosoc is a newly affiliated society and after only two months of running term since they have 62 paid memberships from both Falmouth and Exeter Universities from a wide range of courses and years. They hold weekly committee meetings to share ideas, theory sessions run by the committee, stargazing and camping trips and many collaborations with other societies. The committee try to keep the costs as low as possible for members and membership money is re-invested back to providing an engaging experience for their members. Future events this year include a residential trip, a trip to Goonhillly Observatory and a Planetarium exhibit hosted in the sports centre.

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RAD Awards Sponsored by:

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Fundraising Event of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: CSM Rugby Hair Cuts CSM Rugby truly outdid themselves this year when attempting the Bottle Match tradition of ‘Crazy Hair Cuts’. With a style that put the pineapple in our fruit bowls to shame, the Rugby team raised a stunning £2117.16 for the Matt Hampson Foundation.

Rally4Shelterbox Rally4Shelterbox is a non-stop human powered relay around the entire coast of Cornwall (over 285 miles). The rally is split into 38 legs on which participants can either run, cycle, swim or Kayak. In June 2017 the event raised just under £4,000 for Shelterbox. This year it aims to be bigger and better than ever before!

RAD Lost 2017 saw the most successful LOST event in the history of RAD. Raising approximately £3,000 for The Alzheimer’s Society and involving an epic 11 teams (33 students) this sponsored event takes student teams to a distant remote location, drops them off and demands that the teams get themselves back to campus in the quickest time using only free methods of travel.

RAD Awards

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Most Significant Contribution to Fundraising The shortlisted nominees are: RAD Lost (Rosa & Mikki) 2017 saw the most successful LOST event in the history of RAD. Raising approximately £3,000 and involving an epic 11 teams and it is all down to the fantastic efforts & commitment of the RAD Hitch Officers - Rosa & Mikki.

CSM Rugby The CSM Rugby Team focused their fundraising efforts on hair modelling & pruning this year! Well sculpted moustaches raised £555 for Movember and the wackiest haircuts ever seen raised a stunning £2117.16 for the Matt Hampson Foundation.

RAD Committee With high aspirations, serious work ethic and an unprecedented commitment to the Fundraising cause, this years RAD committee has already far exceeded the records of previous years. So far, estimations indicated an overall RAD total of £96,960.00 and that is due to the creative, dedicated and hard working RAD team.

RAD Awards

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Volunteering Awards

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Most Outstanding SLVP Committee Member The shortlisted nominees are: Callie Edwards Callie could be described as an ‘employers’ dream’. She demonstrates a mature and experienced leadership style which encourages drawing on the strengths of her team members and values the importance of reflection. Her ability to organise, administer effectively and encourage the best from the committee means RAD has had a hugely impressive record breaking year and the committee members have gained masses of opportunities and skills during their time in post, operating like a well oiled fundraising machine.

Jenny Lawrie Jenny has encouraged Generation Wild to achieve some outstanding achievements this year through fantastic project management and engagement. She has organisational and management skills that have never been seen before in student project leaders and by supporting committee members she has promoted continued growth and development of the project.

Jenny is hugely invested in the concept of the project and has grown and learnt a lot from her time at the helm. Jenny will be sorely missed once she graduates at the end of this year but leaves a legacy of success behind her and has been a hugely influential member of the student volunteer community.

Charlotte Main Charlotte is the most organised and committed member Flicka has ever seen. She directs volunteers with confidence and enthusiasm and is always friendly and helpful no matter how much she has on her plate (and she has an awful lot) dedicating over 20 hours of voluntary time a week to the cause on top of her studies.

Charlotte is hugely successful at building and maintaining working relationships and is well regarded by everyone she works with.

Volunteering Awards

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Student-Led Project of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: Generation Wild Generation Wild delivers hugely popular weekly environmental outreach sessions for local primary schools and children’s groups.

They aim to provide volunteers with the opportunity to engage in science communication whilst developing leadership skills and offer a variety of training schemes and opportunities for all members. Since October 2017 Generation Wild volunteers have worked with over 500 children through 24 outreach sessions.

Generation Wild has successfully collaborated with a variety of groups and organisations and is a pioneer in formally arranging a working partnership with the organisation Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

Flicka Flicka has continued to grow as a volunteer project and has made significant progress becoming one of the most popular and most effectively managed & led FXU groups. The project is a fully embedded and hugely valued element of the Flicka Sanctuary and not only provides students with volunteering opportunities, training and support but also fundraises passionately for the Charity.

Penryn Produce Penryn Produce offers its members the opportunity to purchase affordable organic & locally sourced vegetables on campus. Since establishing itself in January 2018, the volunteers running Penryn Produce have successfully encouraged the student community to think more about sustainability and so far, 150 bags of vegetables have been purchased and enjoyed by its impressive 80 members.

The project has big growth ambitions and soon hopes to be expanding its offer to members which means it is set to develop at a speed previously unseen for a Student-Led Volunteer Project.

Volunteering Awards

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Community Volunteer of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: Henry Massimo Henry is a valued member of the Cats Protection Volunteer team; he regularly commits his time to helping with cleaning, socialising and supporting the work of the local Adoption Centre in Carnon Downs & when he’s not here studying his Combined Honours degree, he also volunteers at the National Adoption Centre in Sussex.

Charlotte Main Charlotte works tirelessly for Flicka in a voluntary capacity. She dedicates approximately 20-30 hours a week to the sanctuary on top of the demands of her degree in Animal Behaviour. She not only leads the Flicka Student Volunteer Project but commits even more time beyond the remit of her leadership role to her love of the equine residents of Flicka Sanctuary.

Luke Tester Since the 1st January 2017, Luke has spent a massive 1553.25 recorded hours volunteering in the community. Despite being in his 5th year studying Medicine & Surgery at Truro Campus, Luke has managed to find enough time to commit to a multitude of roles within St John Ambulance and is also a community first responder with the South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

Volunteering Awards

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Sports Awards

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Sports Person of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: Megan Bailey Megan is the Field Captain of FXU Athletics club and is always present at training, works hard, leading by example, and drives to the track early to accommodate the field athletes. She has completed a Coaching Assistant Award using her expertise to help athletes in training. She won the B Final at BUCS Indoors and qualified for the England u23 Championships in June.

Laura Armorgie Laura has had great results, high commitment to the team and has been an inspirational role for the other members of the club.

She won a silver medal at the BUCS Indoor Champs which is the first ever BUCS medal for the club. She has also competed internationally for England this year. Although being a distance learner, Laura has showed her commitment to the team by coming down to Cornwall for team photos and she is also keen in doing the same for the Spring Varsity.

Jordan Clay Jordan is the Men’s Cross Country Captain of FXU Athletics Club and has led by example all year leading hill sessions, organising transport to fixtures and helping the athletes. He has taken a Leadership in Running Fitness qualification which has helped him and other athletes. This year he came 44th at BUCS Cross Country Championships and has represented Cornwall at both the South West and National Inter-county XC champs.

Sports Awards

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Most Outstanding Sports Club Committee Member The shortlisted nominees are: Joe Rigby Joe was part of the CSM Rugby committee. He captained teams every Sunday, representing CSM to play against teams such as Exeter University, Plymouth and many others. Getting people who had not played rugby before involved in these Sunday tournaments, increased memberships and some of these players are now in the 1st team. Joe always goes above and beyond the call of duty, from helping a 1st year out with a photo shoot, to advising team mates studying the same course which modules would best suit them. Being the master of public relations, he has increased attendance at matches, gained a large following on Instagram for the club and helped make the Bottle Match 2018, an enjoyable and respectful event. While being injured he still attended every training and 7:30am fitness session to help coach and inspire the team.

Lauren DeGrange Lauren has dedicated a remarkable amount of time to organising and running multiple events every week. She shows incredible dedication by driving members to events, even those that she herself is not participating in. Sometimes spending two or more hours a week driving to, and watching lessons, so that as many people as possible can join in. She is always quick to answer questions and messages through the society page in a friendly manner. She often creates polls and discussions to allow us to suggest possible future events. Lauren has gone over and beyond her role as President and is not only organising the rides, but is training the newer members to take over next year. She has introduced new events such as gymkhanas, day rides, and intermediate jumping lessons. She has also increased the number of beginner lessons to encourage more people to join in. She is always empathetic to nervous riders and always tries to organise with the riding stable that they are provided with a horse they are comfortable with. She is also careful to make sure that riders do not join a lesson that could be dangerous to them.

Sports Awards

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Jolyon Blackwell Jolyon has always made a massive effort in organising and expanding the efforts of the Touch Rugby Club, whilst doing the same for Ultimate Frisbee. He has designed Touch’s new kit and organised the ordering and purchasing of it, in addition to coaching Touch sessions, and reaching out to sponsors. He has been a tremendous help to the club, by supporting tournament logistics and social events. Always increasing the engagement of the club with its members and wider participants. He is known to be the friendly face anyone can go to for a word of advice and help in both clubs he runs, and is always kind and enthusiastic at every training and event. He has been key in student outreach, he has truly supported all of the efforts of both clubs and is a great member of both teams.

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Most Improved Sports Club of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: FXU Athletics Club The 2017/18 season has been a breakthrough season for FXU Athletics, not least highlighted by our progress in the south west Varsity. Our debut in Winter 2016 saw the club place 8th of 9 teams.

Spring 2017 the club climbed to 5th. Our most recent venture to Exeter saw us claim the title of South West champions, which is a testament to the engagement and enthusiasm from the club as a whole. The club has also placed better as a team for BUCS cross-country, BUCS indoors and the general turnout to Westward League cross country races has improved greatly since the club’s formation. The club has increased its members to 57. The club has now achieved Gold standard in the FXU Accreditation Scheme.

The huge variety in the events that we offer has all been very well received by our members and are subsidised by the club to allow as many people to participate as possible.

Touch Rugby Touch has had a huge presence, with a group of around 50 students attending every week. Touch attends South West Touch tournaments coming third in its first attempt. The committee has attended refereeing courses and organised the tournaments and coaching sessions all on their own. The club is collaborating with other Touch clubs in Cornwall such as Truro, and has great links with the local community. This expansion has improved facilities and has set up events for the summer term. The club has organised kits for members to be purchased.

Sports Awards

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D of E Society The DofE society has increased to silver accreditation this year and has started running a much wider range of events to previous years. This year the society has run multiple classroom-based theory sessions, several day-long training sessions, a weekendlong training session, and will run three 4 day expeditions. The number of participants completing the award has significantly increased and by the end of August the society will have enabled nine participants to achieve their gold award, the highest number in the past three years. The society has also run multiple successful training sessions with the Truro open award centre and continued to maintain strong ties with them, along with FXU.

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Sports Club of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: FXU Dodgeball Being less than two years old FXU Dodgeball have gone above and beyond what they could have imagined. Entering the South West Uni League for the first time and having won 11 out of 12 fixtures are currently sitting in second with all to play for at the last meet for top place, therefore one of FXU most successful teams. Two players have recently become Wales international players. The club have improved their social media this year in particular their Instagram and have a series of ‘featured player’s’ videos. They have raised money for charity by hosting Tournaments which have been open to members and non-members. FXU Dodgeball get involved in lots of FXU Campaigns e.g. Give it a Go week. Have gained sponsorship for their new playing kit and gained Exeter Annual Fund for personalised Dodgeballs. The club’s President won Cornwall Sports Partnership U25 Coach of the Year.

CSM Shinty CSM Shinty club continues to be the leading developer of shinty in England. Under our specialist shinty coaches, the team can improve their skills and knowledge of the game weekly, with almost all of them having now represented Cornwall, and many of them going on to play for the England Shinty Team. CSM players will help Cornwall Shinty Club try and win the English Shinty Championships for the 4th year in a row. Last year CSM alumni were captain and secretary of the England Shinty Team, as well as playing for CSM in our shinty-hurling match against Imperial College London. CSM Shinty have engaged with Give It A Go week and our welcoming presence, mixed teams and no trials leads to one of the most diverse and inclusive societies within FXU, allowing us to be accessible for everyone. The club, in association with Cornwall Shinty, is involved in a number of tournaments throughout the year, giving members the chance to compete against the top shinty teams in the world, and making a name for the club whilst doing FXU proud.

Sports Awards

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FXU Athletics Club FXU Athletics have claimed the title of south west Varsity champions, which is a testament to the engagement and enthusiasm from the club as a whole. The club has placed better as a team for BUCS cross-country, BUCS indoors and the general turnout to Westward League cross country races has improved greatly with many of our members having competed for Cornwall. The club strives for positive engagement with the FXU through involvement in campaigns and has achieved Gold standard in the FXU Accreditation Scheme. As a sports club, Athletics strives to promote an active lifestyle whichever way possible and the huge variety in the training sessions, activities, socials and events that we offer is well received by our 57 members and they have become cheaper or free, thanks to our increased member numbers.

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Outstanding Sporting Achievement The shortlisted nominees are: Jordan Clay Jordan, the FXU Sports Bursary recipient, came 44th out of 360 at BUCS Cross Country this year, improving from previous years. This is a record high finish for FXU and for Jordan, as he came out on top for Exeter University as a whole. He spearheaded the Men’s team to finish 23rd out of 54. Jordan has also performed well in Cornwall, in the Westward Cross Country League, finishing in 3rd place overall, including a 1st place in the final race in Redruth.

Megan Bailey Megan is an FXU Sports Bursary recipient and won the Pole Vault B Final at BUCS Indoors achieving a height of 3.60m placing her 7th overall. This is a personal best, an FXU club record and an Exeter University record. This is an improvement on 9th the previous year and also qualifies her for the England U23 Championships in June and places her 27th in the UK (10th for U23).

Matthew Chapman Matthew won a Gold in the BUCS Surfing Championships in Newquay for the second time in 3 years in the men’s individual competition. His winning performance also earned FXU a gold in the men’s team competition. The FXU Sports Bursary recipient contributed to FXU’s BUCS points and was key to the success of the team as they clinched victory in their home county.

Laura Armorgie Laura is one of the FXU Sports Bursary recipients and has won the club’s first BUCS medal winning a silver in the High Jump final at BUCS Indoors with an outstanding 1.70m. This year she has also competed internationally for England in the High Jump, finishing 5th in the B Final and 9th overall.

Sports Awards

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Activities Awards

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Newcomer of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: The Astronomy Society The Astronomy Society proposal only got passed at November forum and officially affiliated with FXU in January 2018 and have gone from strength to strength. The level of activity from the society has been outstanding and already this year they have delivered sell out star gazing trips and astronomy theory lectures. They have planned more trips which include camping in Bodmin, a tour of Goonhilly Earth Station and more stargazing evenings, as well as organising a planetarium company to visit in May. The organisation from the society and the level of commitment and hard work is so impressive considering this society has only been running for less than 2 months.

Hispanic Society The Hispanic society started in September 2017 at Freshers Fayre enticing the crowds serving tapas, music and a Photo Booth opportunity which lead to having over 200 people show interest, showing that it is a society for all! The committee are highly organised and fulfil the satisfaction for their members as the same loyal crowd attend events alongside new faces. Their first inaugural event in November called Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) attracted different groups from all over campus and sold out on the door immediately. They have run 4 more events celebrating an aspect of Hispanic tradition (i.e.our Rio Carnival party in February and selling home made tortilla in the Compass). The Hispanic Society received an extremely high level of attainment and progression through the FXU Accreditation, gaining Silver in the first few months as a society.

Activities Awards

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Touch Rugby Club Touch has been a tremendous success this year especially as they progress into the summer months. The club has had great links with the local community running sessions for all. The committee have developed their leadership skills and undertaken a number of courses, including First Aid, Touch Referee Courses, and RFU courses. Showing great commitment to the club, with a huge number of volunteered hours, to truly create a lively and sustainable community of players. The club has and continues to attend tournaments, showing the talent present in the Penryn and Falmouth campuses. Touch has an unprecedented ratio of female and male students, in addition to a variety of ages involved. It is an extremely inclusive club, which is growing rapidly.

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Member of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: Louis Foy Louis has attended almost all of the regular sessions for FXpectrUm since he first started university. He’s super enthusiastic and very keen to share his experience to educate people about autism. He’s also very funny and tries to include everyone in discussions which is a real skill and one that should be celebrated!

Chanel Roberts As a returning member of FXU Athletics club, Chanel has come a long way and really progressed this year. Chanel is one of the hardest working athletes in the club, she attends all 4 training sessions each week, and always trains with a positive mentality, she is very good at taking on feedback to improve in any way she can.

Chanel has been the mainstay of the female sprinters this year. She always encourages the athletes to turn up, and when they do, she leads by example. Chanel has also been great at welcoming new athletes to the group. Our distant learners were both made to feel very welcome by Chanel, who is naturally a very welcoming and warm person.

Victoria Hoare Victoria has been an instrumental part of RAD’s success this year.

She returned from Study Abroad and jumped straight into a leadership position on RAD as the new Vice-President logging over 250 volunteer hours, over 150 for RAD. Victoria is a newcomer to the fundraising world but that hasn’t stopped her from getting stuck in, whether it’s been KPI-driven, report writing, organising events from scratch, mentoring other members of the committee, or taking a step back and looking at the strategic direction of the group.

Following attending RAG Conference, Victoria came up with the idea of Adopt A Charity; helping to build links between our internal groups and external organisations. Not only this but Victoria has been a pinnacle figure in creating events most notably Zombie Crawl, RAD Naked Calendar & Race2Amsterdam.

Activities Awards

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Sustainable Project or Event of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: Renewable Energy Society ReCell Power Bank Workshop The Renewable Energy Society organised a power bank workshop on the 10th of March. The aim was to make power banks out of old laptop batteries that would otherwise be considered as waste.

Students of many different subjects got the opportunity to safely strip laptop battery cases to obtain the batteries, then to produce a case and connect all the electronic components. Students were given the choice between using a set design for the side of the power bank with all the holes for USB etc, or to make up their own using CAD software, and everyone decided to design their own model. Although the workshop was meant to last from 10am till about 3 or 4 pm, most students stayed longer, keen to finish their project.

The cases were made from balsa wood, which is a lot more sustainable than the traditional plastic used for power banks, and the students got to walk away with the case they had designed.

Because a laser cutter was used in the process, they were also able to engrave personalised content on their wooden power bank cases, and this was very much appreciated. Students came from different backgrounds such as energy engineering, but also sustainable product design (Falmouth) and mathematical sciences.

The Renewable Energy Society raised awareness of recycling and waste by holding the workshop, as well as simply through advertising it and showing that it is possible to rely on plastic less and reuse perfectly good materials.

Activities Awards

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Penryn Produce Penryn Produce is a student-led food coop, with its main aim to provide affordable organic vegetables on campus. They aim to make the project inclusive, as they make organic fresh local produce easily accessible and affordable, to allow as many students as possible to be able to purchase our sustainable produce. All the produce is sourced from within 30km of Penryn Campus, with the majority of it being grown at Cusgarne Organic Farm in Truro. Since launching in January, they have recruited over 80 members and traded approximately 600kg of sustainable produce. The ethos is to support those who want to lead a more sustainable, environmentally friendly lifestyle, by supplying local, 100% plastic-free produce at less than retail price. The project is more than a campaign to inspire others, it is actively providing a new sustainable alternative to imported supermarket produce, regularly promoting tips on how to reduce individuals’ environmental impact through social media.

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Collaboration of the Year The shortlisted nominees are: FXpectrum, Don’t DisAbility and the Events Society As a part of Don’t DisAbility Week 2018, our first event was held on Valentine’s Day, and was called “Blind Date”. This was the first of this kind of event to happen on campus, and was a blindfolded speed dating event. This aimed to break down the barriers, allowed people who may be anxious to meet new people. First impressions were based on who the person was not what they looked like or what difference they had. The two societies collaboration of knowledge and skills complemented each other to create a great event. For those that attended it was a valuable experience, and many exchanged contacts and or met following the event.

Therefore, this event allowed friendships to be formed as well as possible romance. Both societies were really happy with the event it allowed people who may not ordinarily put themselves forwarding for speed dating to feel comfortable to do so in a safe space.

RAD Naked Calendar Victoria organised the creation of the RAD Naked Calendar, this calendar involved the collaboration of 12 Activity Groups who took part in a naked calendar shoot. Some of the societies who took part commented on how fab and enthusiastic Victoria was over the whole process and during the shoots made everyone feel extremely comfortable. Selling nearly 100 calendars, the project helped raise £640, all this went to charity as Victoria brilliantly secured the sponsorship of Gylly beach who paid for the printing costs.

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FXpectrum, Don’t DisAbility Society and FXU Deaf Awareness and BSL Society These 3 incredible societies have joined forces this year to put on a unique training session for their fellow student groups. They put together a brilliant presentation with useful tips and advice on how to make FXU activities more inclusive and make other committee members aware of how to approach their society members. They held 2 training sessions which totalled nearly 100 attendees (Reps from a range of Activity Groups) and the delivery at the event was excellent. There has been excellent feedback from other groups showing how successful this was, with talks of delivering it to others across the campuses.

FXU Don’t DisAbility Society, The Chorus, Events Society and Ladies Football In collaboration for Don’t Disability week four short films were released showcasing inclusivity across FXU Activity Groups. These were directed, filmed, edited and starred disabled students on campus. The aim of these films were to break down preconceived barriers many students may hold and encouraging them to become a member of a group. A wide audience of viewers were able to see their peers taking part in a range of activities sharing their experience that having a disability of any description does not exclude anyone from getting involved. As a result of these films more groups have expressed interest in collaborating with Don’t DisAbility Society. As well as finding that students who take part in academic or social activity with a disability (they prefer to say difference) increases the drive of the individual whilst at university, which has been extremely rewarding.

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Outstanding Contribution to the Student Experience The shortlisted nominees are: Kirsten Perkins As BAME officer Kirsten has been a real assist to her peers and the Liberation Committee defining the role to a very high standard. Her ability to network shone through when organising the guest speaker event, Alfred Muteru Ndumo to talk on the economic effects of neocolonialism on the developing world. This was a huge success in raising awareness on an issue which often gets unnoticed or diluted in academic literature bringing a diverse and large audience together. Alfred has since spoken highly of Kirsten and FXU as a whole whilst in Cornwall and back in London which is a credit to her. Similarly, Kirsten was instrumental in highlighting the common disease sickle cell. Kirsten’s boldness and courage to tackle such a sensitive topic, just betrays her willingness to represent the BAME community to the absolute best of her capability.

FXpectrum FXpectrUm really improves the lives of students with autism on campus. Not only do they provide regular and routine-based meet ups (which help autistic people feel less anxious), but aim to educate people about autism. Equality is so important FXpectrUm see autism not as a negative, an illness, but as a thing to acknowledge, work with and even celebrate! They facilitate the joining of members to other groups, ensuring that the society is aware of autism and how autistic students can be helped. They are inclusive of everyone - not just people with autism! Students have fed back that without FXpectrUm - they wouldn’t go out and socialise, which is such an important part of the student experience!

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Sarah Redman Sarah takes part in as many groups as she possibly can. She volunteers with RAD for the fundraising sector. She works with the project Voices that collaborates with a huge array of students and lends a platform to the minority groups on campus, increasing inclusivity and promoting equal opportunities. Sarah is on the leadership team and is encouraging societies to get involved with fundraising through adopt a charity, as well as a course rep for history, allowing the student voice to be carried forward and listened to. In total Sarah is part of 9 different extracurricular groups, all of which provide a platform for students to increase their participation, volunteering effort, communication and over all student experience and she takes part in all of these with undying enthusiasm. She goes above and beyond the call of duty, and then some.

Neil Tunstall In September 2016, FXU Athletics club went down to the track for the first time, and since then have not looked back. Neil has done so much for the club, and is at the track every Tuesday and Thursday to coach. He prepares a monthly training schedule in advance, with two different session choices depending on students events, and has different target times for people of all abilities.

Neil also comes to campus to deliver circuit training session each week and above all, does this all for free, showing an unwavering commitment to the club and the role he has taken on. Thanks to Neil, students love for Athletics have grown and been a good release of study pressures. Neil has contributed to the student experience at FXU very well he works hard to inspire & prepare the athletes in a challenging and enthusiastic way without him, the club would not be where it is today.

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Overall Contribution to FXU Activities The shortlisted nominees are: Jamal Clarke Jamal has been a leader in helping new students feel part of the FXU community, he has inspired people to volunteer and become committee members of FXU Activity Groups and complete awards to develop their skills for their role. He has made a huge contribution in developing and increasing the provision for intramural sport, in particular football. He has been a role model for everybody in the Athletics team with his exceptional results and hardworking ethics.

Sarah Redman Sarah has been instrumental in widening Societies reach and overall engagement with the student body and FXU. As Societies Officer Sarah’s dedication and hunger to help support every society on the campus to be the best is exceptional, providing a voice to students whose may have been unheard before. She is an inspiration to all members of the student body with a passion for change, being a living example of how involvement in the student union can better the student experience by encouraging a more inclusive environment for all. Activity group collaborations and charity fundraising has evolved due to Sarah’s ‘Adopt a Charity’ campaign. Sarah’s commitment and involvement of a diverse range of extra-curricular Activities include RAD, Voices, Falmouth Anchor, History and Academic Chair speaks for itself in demonstrating her passion, energy, and time for FXU Activities.

So much so that she has logged over 600 volunteer hours. Sarah believes in the idea and ability of extra-curricular activities to take your university experience from great to absolutely excellent.

Sarah is a leader whose positivity and endless levels of enthusiasm inspires others and FXU Activities wouldn’t be the same without her.

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Lydia Allegretto Lydia is a force of nature. She’s relentlessly working for the student community, be it in her leadership role or her roles on multiple projects and society committees. Lydia is a self-proclaimed workaholic who can always been found in the library, working in the FXU office or volunteering for Penryn Produce, RAD, Green Living or assisting other projects to run successfully. In her role as FXU Volunteering Officer, she has become a hugely valuable projector of the student voice and a huge asset to the FXU Activities Team.

Her commitment and dedication to making small but impactful changes to how Volunteering is supported by FXU has meant massive gains for the FXU Volunteering Team and FXU’s Student Led-Projects and improvements for volunteering statistics. Lydia is always first to volunteer and help lend a hand voluntarily assisting with general queries and supporting projects and individuals to support a depleted staff team and uphold a respectable level of service for committee members during a difficult time. Lydia is a true ambassador of FXU values, hugely helpful, giving up her time tirelessly to improve things for her peers and colleagues. She has set a president which will be hard for any other volunteer to meet.

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Falmouth & Exeter Students’ Union is a registered charity in England and Wales No.1145405

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Awards 2018

Activities Ball Join in with the celebrations!

We look forward to seeing you at the FXU Activites Ball Thursday 03 May 2018 Falmouth Hotel 7PM - Late Tickets are available to purchase here.

If you can’t make it to the event, check out our social media links below for the latest award updates Facebook Twitter Website

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