Laura Welford: Candidate for Student member of council.

Laura Welford: Candidate for Student member of council. Arts and Humanities degree student. Eager to be a voice for my fellow students. Graduating 2026.

25/11/2022

Hello everyone, so the results are in and unfortunately I wasn’t successful this time around. I was up against some amazing candidates and I wish the best of luck and success to those elected into the positions.

I will be keeping this page going, and I shall look at standing again in the next elections.

Thank you to those who voted, your support has been brilliant.

Laura ☺️

14/11/2022

Student Member of council
1. How will you ensure the student voice is heard whilst keeping the university and its needs your key focus?
Firstly, I will engage with my fellow students, I cannot ensure that I can make their voices heard without hearing them myself. I will then ensure that I speak clearly to those that I work with to get the thoughts and opinions of my fellow students across. I shall make sure that I am prepared and armed with as much information as I can be when speaking for our fellow students.
2. As a Student Member of Council how will you deal with difficult decision-making in high-level meetings?
Important decisions shouldn’t be rushed. It is important to carefully look at the issues, break them down and approach them one by one. I will listen to what others have to say, asking questions when I need clarity and offer solutions and opinions that I feel would benefit everyone involved. I will

14/11/2022

Why do you feel it is important for Students to be involved in high level decision making at their University?

Without students there would be no institution, to allow them to be involved creates in high level decision making creates trust amongst everyone involved. This ensures the continued success of the University, allowing it to continue changing the lives of those embarking on further education for many years to come.

14/11/2022

In 100 words, how will you seek to uphold the Association’s mission to make a positive difference for all OU students and our values of integrity, equality and inclusivity, openness, kindness and compassion and collaboration?

I will ensure that I available to listen to any concerns raised by my peers, to ensure that their voices are heard regardless of race, sexuality, age and circumstances. I shall endeavour to work with my fellow council members to make sure that we communicate not just with our fellow students but also with those senior to us. I shall also try to encourage the upkeep and creation of various outlets of communication to ensure everyone can be involved.

14/11/2022

Good morning, and happy Monday everyone, I hope that the weekend was great for you all.

Voting closes in one week for the By-elections so if you have yet to cast your vote, please take a look at the candidate pages, there's a great collection of candidates there.

08/11/2022

Hello everyone, I hope your weeks have started off well ☺️

Voting for the OUSA by-elections opens today, I believe students will receive an email inviting them to vote.

I shall be continuing to post the rest of the information from my candidate page as well as the answers to the remaining candidate questions over the coming days.

Voting closes on November 21st, so there is still plenty of time to ask questions and look over all the amazing candidates before casting your vote.

To those who choose to vote for me, Thank you, I will do all I can to ensure the voices of my fellow students are heard, I will fight to ensure that information is accessible to all, and I shall ensure that no one gets side lined or forgotten.

07/11/2022

Would you support the return of the weekend face to face conference on the university's campus in Milton Keynes in 2024 after two online conferences in 2020 and 2022?

Yes, I would support a return to face-to-face conferencing when possible. Whilst video conferencing is an excellent way of allowing people from all over the country to attend, face to face allows for members to interact with each other on a more personal level. This would allow for a better relationship allowing thoughts and decisions to be shared and made with greater ease.

• How will you organise your work to balance engaging with students and preparing for meetings e.g: reading paperwork, making notes?

I would approach this much in the same way I approach my studies, by allocating a set time each day to read emails, touch base with any one I need to and responding to queries. As with all the modules I have studied and am currently studying I will have dedicated notepads and folders specific to council duties, as well as importing any important dates into the calendar on my smart phone.

• There might be occasions where what you wished to achieve during your time in the role is just not possible. How would you approach communicating this to students?

Communication is key, if there are tasks that I just don’t feel I will be able to accomplish then I would make it known to my fellow students via the appropriate channels, be that via social media or more directly in email. I would also reach out to those taking over and detail what I had intended in the hope they will be able to continue what I have started.

• How would you handle differing opinions within the Student Leadership Team?

Again, communication is key, it is important that everyone can voice their opinion. If an agreement can’t be made then it is important to seek compromise, break the situation down and seeing if opposing opinions can find elements of other suggestions that they agree with, working together to find a solution that benefits everyone.

07/11/2022

Good morning and happy Monday everyone.

Today's post is the pledge available to view on my candidate page. Apologies again if this seems basic, but again please feel free to comment or message any questions.

I shall listen to any concerns that are brought to my attention, guiding students in the direction of anything that will help make their study experience as beneficial to them as possible. I will work alongside fellow council members to keep students up to date with current news and events.

05/11/2022

Good morning, todays first post I will be sharing my Manifesto. I will be very honest with you all, this is the first time I have written a manifesto so please forgive me if it's very basic. Please feel free to message or comment with any questions you may have though.

Manifesto
One of the most daunting things about studying with the OU is the distance factor, my concern was that I would feel isolated from my peers. What I have discovered though is an amazing support network, made up of my fellow students. I want to do what I can to ensure future students have the same, if not improved access to all that the student association has to offer. I am enthusiastic, caring and eager to get involved in continuing to uphold what the student association stands for. I have actively participated in and created social media groups and chats for students studying the same modules as myself, which have been invaluable to certainly myself and hopefully to my fellow students. This sort of interaction is something I would like to help bring to not just my fellow module students. but to everyone studying with the OU. I also mentor two students starting their level 1 journeys, offering advice and guiding them to websites and resources that will help with their studies.

04/11/2022

Thank you to those who have followed my page. It really means a lot to me ☺️

So, first things first, a little about me.

I’m a 37 year old single mum, currently living in the Rhondda valley, South Wales. I will be relocating back to Lincolnshire in the new year in order to be closer to family.

I started my OU journey in February 2021 with the Y031 access module, I had been out of education for 17 years having dropped out of sixth form after some poor subject choices.
I was coming out of a toxic relationship, and part of my journey to come out of the other side of that was to do something I had been led to believe I couldn’t.

I am working towards the BA (Hons) Arts and Humanities (Classical Studies and Creative Writing). I have now completed stage 1, having finished A111 in May and A112 this September and have just started my first stage 2 module A229.

I am absolutely loving my journey so far, not just for the studying, but for the friends and people I have met along the way. I have encountered so much support and I want to pay it forward for current and future students. That is the main drive for running in the By-elections.

I have set up and admin Facebook and WhatsApp groups for the modules that I have been studying. Offering advice and helping to answer questions that may come up. I also signed up to the FASS mentoring programme and currently have 3 stage 1 student mentees.

My hope is to move on to a masters and eventually becoming a university lecturer, a role within the OU lecturing team would be top of the list of places I would want to teach.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know a little (or a lot as it may seem) about me, my next post, likely in the next day, will be a bit about my manifesto and my answers to the candidate questions that have been asked recently.

Happy Friday everyone.

04/11/2022

Hi everyone, I am Laura, and I am standing for Student member of council in the upcoming By-elections.

I shall be using this page to share my manifesto, my response to the candidate questions and to also answer any questions that my fellow students may have.

Over the coming days I shall be adding posts telling you all a little about myself and why I wish to be a voice for the students.

Please feel free to add any fellow OU students to the page.

Thank you and I look forward to interacting with you.

Address

Tonypandy
CF401HR

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