Lowri is your SU President for the 2016 - 2017 academic year. Lowri is responsible for the leading the Executive Officer Team and representing Plymouth students nationally and across the University. She supports UPSU's organisational communications and leads on sustainability, employability and community campaigns.
Read Lowri's manifesto points here.
We caught up with Lowri to talk about how she's feeling about representing you as Plymouth students over the next year, how she was feeling in the run up to her first week at University and to share some of her top tips for all students starting University in Plymouth next month.
What did you study at University?
Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies, with Psychology as a minor for the first two years.
Why did you choose Plymouth University?
Mainly because it’s by the sea and I always wanted to be able to pop to the seaside whenever I want to. It was also a plus that there are good shops here, my particular course had great modules, and my boyfriend was also coming down to Plymouth to study!
How did you feel starting at University?
Ridiculously excited, but equally petrified. Since I wasn’t going to be in halls, I was really worried about making friends, and being so far from home back in North Wales I wouldn’t be able to nip home when things weren’t good. I had a few ups and downs during freshers week and the whole of first year in fact, but everyone’s in the same boat so there was always someone feeling exactly like I was.
What song reminds you most of starting Uni?
S Club 7 – Reach
There was a beautiful moment when I was out in the SU when this song came on – the unity of the dancing and the singing was just amazing, it felt like, wow, this is uni and it’s started.
What was your most embarrassing moment of Freshers Week?
I don’t get embarrassed very easily, but on my second or third day, I walked into the wrong room, sat down with other students, and only realised I was in the wrong place when a lecturer came in and started handing out handbooks for some kind of science course….
If you could do Freshers' Week again what would you do differently?
This sounds so silly, but I would definitely go to the library induction/tour/talk/whatever they put on this year. I skipped it during my freshers week, and when I went in for the first time about a month later, I couldn’t figure out how to scan my card and then I couldn’t find the Criminology section. The man at the front desk asked if I’d forgotten the induction already and my face gave it away – the look of disappointment on his face….
What are your top 5 tips for making the most of starting Uni?
-
Don’t burn yourself out. You really don’t need to go out to every single club night during Freshers' Week – we have loads more during the year, you won’t be missing out – caring for yourself is way more important!
-
Join societies and sports clubs – my two societies kept me going throughout my degree and I don’t think I’d be here as an officer if I hadn’t have got involved with them.
-
Make a budget and stick to it. You definitely need more money for Freshers' Week than you do any other week so factor that in, but I wish I’d budgeted properly quicker – it’s not fun waiting around for the next loan.
-
Use all the services you can – the uni and the SU both offer loads of amazing opportunities (and so many of them for free) that are for fun, to develop your CV, to meet people, and so much more. You should really take advantage of everything you can.
-
Talk to people. You might be feeling lonely or homesick or just absolutely lost, but honestly, there will 100% be other people feeling the same. If you’re struggling to find another student that feels like you do, seek out help from the university or the union – from your personal tutor, to our advice service, to just one of us officers, if we can’t help you ourselves, we’ll definitely know who can.
What was your guiltiest pleasure during Freshers Week?
Probably the free pizza that kept cropping up everywhere!
How do you feel about doing Freshers' Week again as a representative of Plymouth University students?
Arrivals weekend and Freshers' Week is my favourite time of the year – even last year as a 3rd year student, the buzz on campus made me so happy. Now I get to take up an even bigger role in it all and I’m so excited. You’ll see me at literally every event in the SU and I might be so so tired by the end, but it’s totally worth it to make sure that new students have the best first week they possibly can!
Follow Lowri on Twitter for updates throughout the year.
For top tips and more information in the run up to and throughout Freshers' Week follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and join the official Plymouth Freshers 2016/17 Group
#plymfresh16
