We recently had a school student, Jacob, on work experience with us at Open SU. He had a great time learning about our organisation, as you can discover below:
I was given the opportunity to do my work experience at the Open SU (the Open University Student Union). Open SU is made up of four main elements: the Board of Trustees, the Student Leadership Team, the Staff Team and the Volunteers and Representatives. The Open SU is an organisation working alongside the Open University to handle any complaints/issues raised by students. Here is a brief account of the time I spent here.
My time at the Open SU has been a unique and educational experience; I have been given a firsthand view of how they run their operations and handle any problems that students come to them with. I learnt that the team here at Open SU are very dedicated and will go to extreme lengths to ensure the wellbeing and quality of life for students at the OU. They may reach out to the Student Casework Office, the Student Support teams and more to sort out any problems that students may have.
My experience here also included visiting a nursery with some people here at the Open SU to build bug hotels with the children, which was a nice trip. Building these bug hotels were beneficial to the ecosystem which goes to show how the people here care for the environment.
I was also asked to make a poster promoting the acceptance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+ (LGBTQ+) in celebration of Pride month. I chose to make this poster with the topic of the origins of Pride month in mind; I wrote about the Stonewall riots and the dates which same sex marriage were legalised in the USA and UK which ties into the topic of the origins of LGBTQ+ and Pride month.
I also sat through several meetings with various members of the team, which was very engaging and enabled me to develop my understanding of their jobs here and how they interact with different bodies within the OU.
I am very lucky to have been given such an opportunity to do my work experience here, it truly has been a one-of-a-kind experience, teaching me discipline, life skills and given me opportunities to enhance my understanding of how the world of employment works.
I also wrote an article for SiSE (Students in Secure Environments). A secure environment could mean something like an asylum or a prison. The article I wrote contained information on how to be rehabilitated into civilian and student life again, whilst also caring for your mental health and making time for yourself. I also included some helplines that SiSE can reach out to if they feel uncomfortable or need help.
I was also instructed to complete the union black course, which taught me about sympathy, stereotypes and anti-racism. It included topics such as immigration, black Britishness and oppression.
There was also a video presentation by Nick Elston, who is a motivational speaker who grew up with anxiety. The video was on the topic of maintaining good mental health, and taught me how to manage stress and anxiety properly. It was very interesting listening to him explain how he overcame his anxiety and became a public speaker.