‘Inspirational’ Students Gain New Qualification and Receive St Mary’s Award

As the end of the exam period draws near, students at St Mary’s University, Twickenham enjoyed an evening of celebration at an awards ceremony on Friday 16th May. During the annual end-of-year awards, a number of student club and society presidents at the University were presented with the ‘St Mary’s Award’, plus a qualification in Managing Sports Volunteers. The St Mary’s Award rewards the commitment of individuals who make an exceptional contribution to the University and are able to reflect effectively upon their learning and development. The Level 3 Managing Sports Volunteers qualification is a new award, introduced in October 2013 to support students who have been elected as presidents of the University’s student societies. The course is a way to give club presidents a way to develop new skills to support them in their roles; such as change management, emotional intelligence, funding, quality assurance and risk assessments. Centre for Workplace Learning Lecturer Fiona Wilson said, “It’s almost like they are running a small business. For example, men’s rugby has several teams and the presidents have to manage the logistics, the kit, the matches away, the behaviour and reputation of the players and negotiate the use of facilities. A large part of the course focused on team formation and leadership skills, which the students found to be useful. The range of skills they have developed are outstanding and transferrable into employment, so it is massively beneficial. “These students are exceptional, the very best of St Mary’s. I was absolutely humbled to hear about their commitment and passion as they talk about their sport, their team and the University. They are the embodiment of everything you could wish for from a student from any university and St Mary’s is lucky to have them. “It’s great that we can honour these students during the year that St Mary’s won the West London Varsity, the annual sporting competition against Brunel University. They are an inspirational group of people.” The evening was followed by the St Mary’s Students’ Union Summer Ball with the Boat party the following morning. Pictures from the events can be found on the University Facebook page.