This blog forms part of our Active Citizenship series, and reflects on how Catherine Taplin-Thorpe, who last week left Student Hubs after four years at the organisation, will be continuing her social action journey outside of the charity sector.
To learn more about the concept of active citizenship, why not read CEO Sim’s blog ‘Exploring Active Citizenship‘? For now, over to Catherine.
As I sit on the train to Oxford for my last ever team time with Student Hubs, I am writing to reflect on my time spent working at Southampton Hub, and what lies ahead for me on my social action journey.
When I started this job 4 years ago as a Projects Officer straight out of university, I had no idea how much this job would mean to me on a professional and a personal level. I have gained so much in terms of skills, knowledge and most of all confidence.
I applied to Southampton Hub because the work aligned with my values; I had been volunteering all through my youth with Girlguiding, and continued this at university. Volunteering in the community while I was at university was a lifeline – I didn’t immediately gel with anyone in my flat or on my course, but I know I could go along on a Friday night to a community which welcomed me. I enjoyed many evenings playing games, running events for the whole district, and doing skills builders with girls of all ages. I eventually took on running my own Rangers unit for a year which was great fun. The friends I met through volunteering in Reading are friends for life – they supported me through such a crucial, transformational time.
Due to my experience with volunteering, I couldn’t have been happier when I got the job to support University students on their own social action journeys. Delivering 5 key projects in my first year developed my skills in hyperspeed – while also focusing on how to deliver high quality activities that were meaningful to both volunteers and participants.
One of the first activities we do when inducting a new committee is reflecting on our social action journeys – usually through badly drawn pictures. It doesn’t matter how much experience, or what kind of experience you have, as long as you know why you are doing what you are doing in the here and now. It is easier to work together when you know that the people around you, whether a small or large group, have the same passions and interests as you do.
I had 6 months experience of a ‘normal’ job before the pandemic started. This was a difficult time personally for me, but having the routine of working from home, and pivoting to new methods of delivery kept me going. If anything, COVID collectively gave us all a chance to reflect on how we serve our communities, especially in times of need. Moreover, it gave us a chance to innovate like never before, being as creative as we could to overcome barriers of remoteness and isolation.
In September 2021, I became Southampton Hub Manager, and this gave me another step up in terms of skills and development – it was a chance to think strategically about what we do and how to make our impact bigger and better. Being Hub Manager has been such a pleasure, meeting people from all across the city and reflecting on our practice as a community. There has been such a shift over the last 3 years alone in how the Southampton community has come together in different spaces to facilitate collaboration, and I think this is only going to get better as time goes on.
Reflecting on my time more broadly, having a socially impactful career is so important to me. Knowing that what I do on a 9-5 basis every week has an impact on even 1 person’s life is one of the key criteria that I look for in a job. I have met so many amazing students in this role who all have passions and motivations to change the communities that they live in. Working with volunteers, and more closely with the committees I have led is the highlight of my time at Student Hubs. This was compounded when our 2022-23 committee came runner up in the Committee Excellence Award at the NSVAs. To watch students who you meet as freshers go on to achieve amazing things as confident student leaders is a privilege.
I also would not have enjoyed my time here as much if it wasn’t for the fantastic team. Every person that I have worked with at Student Hubs has been incredible in their own ways. People have come from all sorts of backgrounds with their own expertise and what they bring to the team, and that makes for a dynamic, innovative and most of all, thriving team that (in risk of sounding like Bob the Builder) gets the job done. The time invested into us as a team through team days, personal and skill development, and social time is unique. Bringing my whole self to work has never been an issue, and we are appreciated as individuals. This could not be done without the tireless work of the Student Hubs Management Team, who lead the way in this.
So, what’s next?
Earlier this year I decided that I am ready for a career change. This wasn’t an easy conclusion to come to when you have such an amazing team of students and colleagues behind you – but I am ready for a new challenge. I am leaving Student Hubs to work in children’s residential care – a career that has meaning and will be a privilege to get to work in. I am also still volunteering with Girlguiding – I started again in Summer 2023 after a two year break and I am loving it.
The last 4 years doing this job has taught me lots about social action. I have embodied this and imparted my knowledge to student leaders who are beginning their social action journeys in their local communities. As I look ahead to the next steps of my social action journey, I know there will be plenty of exciting things waiting for me to get involved in. My time at Student Hubs has certainly changed who I am for the better, and I will hold the values and lessons I have learned here for all of my social action journey to come.
So to round off this blog, I would like to leave you with my top tips, whether you are starting out on your social action journey, or you have been on the journey for a while already:
Never be afraid to try something new
People can be afraid to try social action because they don’t know what it is. The other side of that coin is that you never know until you try. Everyone has something to bring to the table, and you shouldn’t be afraid of getting it ‘wrong’.
You can make a difference
It is easy to think ‘is my work really making a difference?’ – and the answer is yes! Any positive actions you do can make a difference, whether that be for one person, a community, or for the wider world.
The journey is never over
Taking breaks is absolutely okay, and I encourage it! But your journey in making a difference doesn’t have to be over. Your actions could change in scale, or frequency, but taking part in small changes add up to big impact.
We’d like to take this opportunity to extend a huge Student Hubs thank you to Catherine for all her hard work. Best of luck in your new role – you’ll be missed!
Keep an eye out for the next instalment of our Active Citizenship series, penned by Bristol Hub Manager Sorcha, which will be up on the blog at the end of February. If you’re a Hub Alumni and would be interested in writing a blog about active citizenship please get in touch with Amy at amy.bond@studenthubs.org to discuss your ideas.