Today I was very privillaged to be a member of the Student Union Volunter Team and got to greet some amazing young peope as they registered for their first year at the University of Worcester. I lost count of the number of people that I talked to, it was joyous to watch this momentous day being marked as a rite of passage into adulthood and independence with the full support of parents and siblings. Three sets of parents suggested that we should have a 'parent's welcome weekend' so that they could relive their youth-now that was an interesting suggestion!!!

One student had her 10 year old brother in tow, and he was a character to talk to, he asked lots of questions and asked why his sister had to pay to come to university when he didn't pay to go to school but then said it was ok because his dad had told him that he would pay anything not to queue for the bathroom in the morning!! He had already begun to plan for his future years and had determined that if his sister passed her degree then she could pay him to do the jobs that she said would break her nails-we can all learn from the innocence of children and their perception on the simplicity of life.

I had some lovely conversations with the students and their families, and it was encouraging to hear why our university was chosen over other institutions, 'it immediately felt like home when we visited on open day', 'it feels like everyone is a member of an extended family', 'amazing facilities and resources', 'every person we have talked to has always had time to answer our questions', 'we know our daughter is in safe hands, a feeling we never felt at the bigger universities', and many more equally thoughtful comments. It was good to chat with students that I had previously met at the DDS Information Days back in July, and they were still eager and enthusiastic as they had been then.

Thanks has to be given to Andy Wager who organised and co-ordinated the Volunteer Team and ensured that everything ran smoothly today. Our sabbatical officers: Jade (President), James (VP Education) and Hemaka (VP Sports & Societies), interacted with the new students offering them a warm welcome to the SU. Sophie Williams, CEO of the SU, led by example (as always) with her tireless motivation, and Dave Tomkins successfully kept all the technical equipment working to full capacity which ensured that the issuing of the NUS Extra cards ran smoothly without a glitch. So many other people linked to the SU were involved and I appreciate all the support that I received and I thank you all.

I am looking forward to tomorrow to interact further with our Freshers and I welcome everyone to the University of Worcester, I wish you all an amazing student experience over the duration of your degree!!!