A city welcome for the new Vice Chancellor

Opinion
Vanessa Simmons, who manages Events &
Projects for the Faculty of Arts, explains her
passion for widening participation.
Vanessa Simmons
In the summer of 2001, I made a big
decision. Despite successfully completing
the Access to Humanities course at York
College, I’d decided there was no way that
I had the academic capacity to study in
Higher Education (HE). I phoned UCAS to
cancel my place but the phone lines were
engaged. I kept trying until finally it seemed
too late to make this decision by phone.
So I arrived at York St John University,
overwhelmed with anxiety and certain
of failure.
How could a person like me, a young carer
with almost no GCSE results, possibly think
that I could pass a degree? However, here I
am, involved in widening participation – a
cause that I feel so passionate about. I did
pass my degree: in 2004 I obtained a First
Class honours degree in English Literature
and proceeded to pass a Masters degree in
Literature with merit. I have these degrees
because academic staff believed that I
could succeed and their belief encouraged
me to believe in myself.
I’m now fortunate to be in a position
where I can share my passion for widening
participation through arts-related activities
in my role managing projects and events.
As part of the Faculty of Arts widening
participation strategy, we offer prospective
students the opportunity to take part in
specially designed workshops so that they
can ‘taste’ a subject. Working closely with
academic staff, the focus of these events
is primarily on having a ‘real’ student
experience. Each workshop is planned
within a short half-day programme where
the ‘student’ is also taken on a campus tour
and will eat and drink alongside York St
John students.
I think it’s important to remember that
when we talk about these target groups
having no prior experience of HE, this
doesn’t just mean that university is an item
absent from a CV. Many of the students
we work with have never set foot on a
university campus. One of these students,
in her late 60s, who came in for an English
Literature taster in 2006, invited me to
her graduation last November where she
reminded me of the importance of those
first steps.
From tasters to summer schools, from
mature students to school leavers, the
opportunity to spend time as a university
student has proved largely beneficial –
sometimes professionally, where students
have proceeded on to university courses,
and often personally.
This year, we worked with a group of young
students who were resitting their GCSEs.
We learnt, from school staff, that one of
these students had been excluded from
school recently for inappropriate behaviour.
At the end of the visit, his head teacher
commented that he was “unrecognisable”
from the student he had worked with
previously.
I believe the success of these tasters is that
the Faculty of Arts does not just consider
widening participation as policy through
which we transform HE to meet the everchanging
needs of a diverse student body.
We talk to students and plan activities
based on the transforming power of HE on
an individual, which I know from personal
experience can be life-changing.
Their belief
encouraged me
to believe in
myself.
In the spotlight
Jo Piddington, Opportunities
Coordinator, Students’ Union
Describe your role
I started at York St John in August 2009
and my job has developed considerably
from then. I basically had to start
from scratch. My role concerns the
encouragement of volunteering amongst
the student body – making sure they
are aware of the advantages of getting
involved, helping them find suitable
placements, liaising with local organisations
about their volunteering opportunities,
and supporting student-led projects. I also
provide training for our volunteers and we
organise CRB checks if needed.
How did you start?
I did an analysis of the programmes
offered by the University and what sort
of volunteering opportunities might be
relevant to particular subjects – such as
working in schools for trainee teachers.
I also made contact with local organisations
and we now have 64 that we work with
in the city, including Mind, Age Concern
and Visit York. We’ve had a very positive
response. Our three student Community
Coordinators are in regular contact with
the local wards and part of their remit is to
build relationships and spread the message
that the Students’ Union is keen to work
with local communities.
Is your background in
volunteering?
I was actually a sabbatical officer at Leeds
Metropolitan University for two years,
focusing on Welfare and Equality, and
Democracy and Communications. I then
spent a year travelling and working at a
housing charity. I’ve found it very easy to
slot into the culture of the Union here and
my experience at Leeds Met has been
vey useful.
What was the attraction
of York St John?
I liked the fact that it is small compared to
bigger city universities. Everyone is really
positive and friendly. When I saw the job
description for this role I thought it could
have been written for me!
How do you encourage
students to consider
volunteering?
The most important way is to make
them realise that volunteering can help
their personal development. Including
volunteering on your CV helps you stand
out. We have a stall at the Freshers’ Fair and
I’ve been speaking to students in lectures,
starting with the Business School, about
what they can get out of it. Departmental
secretaries have been really helpful in
making sure information is available as well.
I share an office with colleagues in Career
Development and there is an obvious
overlap there. And obviously we have
details about volunteering in the Union.
Do you do any
volunteering yourself?
Yes, I volunteer for Marie Curie Cancer
Care in Leeds and I also help with a
young person in care. I also find time
for swimming, cooking and baking, and
meeting up with friends.
Jo Piddington
What are your greatest
challenges?
I’m focusing on our conversion rate, from
students who say they are interested to
those who then sign up and get involved.
Once they do, they are incredibly
dedicated. Last year we had 488 students
who expressed an interest, and 217 who
actually did some volunteering. I would
love it to be 10 per cent of the student
body that gets involved. I’m starting
to work on applying for Investment in
Volunteers status, the UK quality standard.
I think this will be really important in
focusing our work on changing attitudes
to volunteering.
How can departments
get involved?
I’m always very interested to hear from
any colleagues who know of possible
volunteering opportunities that might
be attractive to their students. Anyone
interested should get in touch with me,
E: j.piddington@yorksj.ac.uk, T: 6360.
12
13