I’ve come to the end of my time studying at Sheffield Hallam (for now at least), which means I’ll no longer be a part of the #hallaminsiders team (sad face). So I wanted to write a little farewell post, with some of my highlights and what I’ve enjoyed about the role.
My journey with #hallaminsiders has featured a lot of wonderful experiences and led to opportunities I wouldn’t have even thought about. It all started when a member of the marketing department found my blog and photos online, talking about life at University and in Sheffield and dropped me a message on Instagram.
Since then I’ve done events and takeovers and blog posts on topics like careers support at Hallam, graduation, money saving tips and everything in between.
Fresher’s Week
The Team Hallam clan at Welcome Week 2016.
My first experience, as part of the #hallaminsiders team, was to assist with the Team Hallam stall at the Freebies Fair, during Welcome Week 2016. This meant working with several members of the marketing department and two of my fellow #hallaminsiders – Yuvini and Clarissa. It was great to meet members of the team and work together on the day; the fairs at Welcome Week are always very busy but a lot of fun. I met a lot of new people and it really kicked off my time with the #hallaminsiders.
During the week I also got involved with the Student Ambassadors team and spent some time handing out The Line Up – a handy leaflet which highlights upcoming events in Sheffield. My post about what I got up to during Welcome Week 2016 was the first one I wrote for the #hallaminsiders blog.
Snapchat Takeover
At the start of 2017, I did a takeover on the Sheffield Hallam Snapchat account for a week. It was aimed at showing current and prospective students what life’s like at Hallam. Unfortunately I don’t have any photo evidence of the takeover because I’m an idiot and didn’t save any of the photos! During the week I went to my classes, the library, out for drinks etc. as normal and did photos and videos of what I was up to. It was a really fun experience and gave me chance to do something a little different! Nowadays, all the #hallaminsiders are Snapchat wizards, back then, we were a bit more ‘let’s try it and see!’
Enterprising Hallam Students
I’ve done a range of posts on the #hallaminsiders blog over the last two years. I’ve talked about things about passionate about, things I’ve enjoyed at University, events in Sheffield and just student life in general. Something I’m particularly proud of is the blog series I did on enterprising Sheffield Hallam students. I did several posts about specific students who had set up their own businesses after graduating; to highlight the options people have for after university (or alongside their studies). And since there’s a lot of support available from the universities Enterprise Team, I wanted to highlight their services.
Instagram Takeover
In August 2017, I did a takeover of the Sheffield Hallam Instagram account. I posted several images onto the image feed, as well as creating a tour of Sheffield using the Stories feature. Since my younger sister was visiting for the weekend she assisted and we devised a route that would highlight lots of the fantastic views and sites in Sheffield, as well as those fabulous independent shops and cafes. It was a really great experience and a lot of fun to spend the whole day sharing everything and really showing off Sheffield. And it was great fun having a laugh with my sister as well.
Clearing
The lighbox team at Clearing 2017
What a day! Clearing occurs every year on A-level results day, and allows students to enter late UCAS application and/or to confirm their university place based on their A-level results. For Hallam staff it means fielding calls, emails and social media queries, various teams are involved including course leaders/academic staff, the marketing and communications teams, the international team and more, along with hundreds of volunteers and student ambassadors.
Initially I became involved to assist with fielding Facebook messages about clearing, however, I was also back-up for helping with the giant light-box and in the end I was working on that for most of the day which was lots of fun. Definitely one of my favourite #hallaminsiders experiences!
All in all, it’s been a fantastic experience and I’m excited to see what the #hallaminsiders team get up to in the future. Hallam Insiders and the wider work I’ve been involved in on campus has given me a wide variety of opportunities and the chance to meet and work with some amazing people. Okay, I’m done gushing, bye for now!
