My Southampton highlights

Apologies for the seemingly never-ending “it’s all about to end and I don’t know what to do with myself” posts, but I guess if we can’t talk about this stuff now, when can we? This week I’ve been reflecting on my time here at the University of Southampton as a whole.

It feels strange picking only a few select moments from three years of incredible happenings, but in doing so it also encouraged me to look back over everything, so it proved a really useful way to kick-start that much needed retrospective.

Also it’s pretty obvious that I’m not quite done yet, and with a whole bunch of exciting events still to come (the Media Ball and the EVAs just to name a few) I’m sure there’ll be space in this list for even more fun stuff.

But for now, like some sort of cheesy, X Factor-style greatest hits montage, here are my “best bits” from my life at Southampton. Cue the reflective piano music.

Freshers’ (duh) 

It’s practically impossible to run through the highlights of my time at the University without at least mentioning how it all began. Freshers’ week might well have been one of the craziest and busiest weeks of my entire life - but in the best way possible.

In the space of less than 7 days, I learned how to dance, learned how to cook (well…sort of) and managed to meet an incredible group of people who have gone on to become some of my closest friends in the entire universe (a university family, if you will). That one week of intensity changed my entire perception of life altogether, and pretty much single-handedly set up a lot of the fun stuff that came later on. So yeah, worthy of highlight status I think.

Halloween/Christmas/General Holiday-themed merriment 

Any opportunity to celebrate has always been embraced here, between our own DIY-Christmases to some dodgy Halloween costumes and the occasional spot of green face-paint for a certain Irish holiday. Narrowing it down to just one is impossible!

The upside to being away from home means that as a student, you get to do a whole bunch of these things twice. I even blogged about the wonders of a ‘Uni Christmas’ back in December, and how magical the entire celebration is; the Campus Christmas lights will never be forgotten. It’s become an ongoing tradition every year here that I’ll miss hugely - celebrating two weeks early over awesome food and mismatched cutlery is something you can only ever really manage as a student, and here in Southampton we truly mastered it as an art-form.

Our first uni Christmas will never be forgotten!

Press Antics 

Aside from my degree, easily the best thing I did work-wise whilst here in Southampton was to join The Edge - our on-campus entertainment magazine. Little did I know when I first wrote a pretty shoddy review of the TV show Dexter in Freshers’ week 2013 that some years later I would be Film Editor, rolling around in screener discs and rubbing shoulders with famous people!

Thanks to The Edge I’ve found myself going all-access at the BFI London Film Festival not once but twice, interviewing some insanely interesting people and even organising an entirely student-run film festival (easily the most triumphant highlight!).

Not only has it awoken my voice as a writer (due thanks must go to this here blog too!), but it’s also helped me find a career path through a multitude of experience, which is basically irreplaceable in my books.

The Edge got me this close to Chris Pratt and James Gunn meaning I will always be indebted to them

Film-athons 

The one thing I really can’t get enough of is the film culture here in Southampton. When I first joined the University, I was a relatively shy film nerd with huge ambitions that I never really thought possible. Now, I feel like I can tackle anything, and a major part of getting to this point has been down to meeting so many like-minded people.

I guess it helped that I chose to study Film here, but also through societies like The Edge and SUSUtv I met a whole heap of other film nerds and together we conquered so much, taking on the Union Films Halloween All-Nighter every year (that’s non-stop horror films from 8pm-8am!), and an entire multitude of midnight screenings and other marathons!

The Reel Opinions review team attempting to make sense after staying up all night

The ultimate highlight came this time last year though, when a group of friends and I stayed up through the night for a midnight screening of the latest Avengers film (Age of Ultron), before keeping ourselves awake and hiding out in Hartley Library thanks to its 24-hour opening times, so that we could film our SUSUtv review the very second the SUSU building opened. There’s very few people who would be nuts enough to join me in such endeavours, and it feels like I could only really have ever met them here!

Then there was the time that Hollywood came to Southampton (quite literally) as the Tom Cruise-starring Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation started filming nearby in Fawley. They auditioned a ridiculous amount of our students in the Students' Union for roles as extras and I was somehow lucky enough to be picked! I’m still not really allowed to talk much about what went on, but it was quite possibly one of the most incredible weeks of my life.

I feel like I’m using that phrase a lot, but it couldn’t be more true. Over my three years here, Southampton has graced me with some of the most standout moments possible.

Looking back, it’s going to be sad to leave it behind, but the memories will always be here, and I’m sure there are more adventures yet to come!

Ben

Making the most of my last undergraduate year

Last year I had a chat with a representative of PwC. It was an informal CV consultation in an event set up by the University’s Careers and Employability team. I had no obligation to apply for the employer after I graduate - it was simply an opportunity to have an interactive one-on-one session with someone who was hiring. What we spoke about during this meeting has had a profound impact on my last year as an undergraduate student.

As we chatted through my CV, we spoke about how my grades and job history were good, but there was a space that was missing a lot of writing: extra-curricular activities. It is true that your grades are crucial to your job search. At the same time, however, so are your activities outside of academia. As cheesy as this may sound, it indicates to employers how wholesome you are as an individual and thus plays a crucial part in what give you an edge as an applicant.

Never managed a team before? There is support out there for you. I got this book from the Academic Skills  shelf on the third floor of Hartley library.

So, in light of this, I became President of the Filipino Society. I had never managed a society before, let alone had been part of a committee. I am still getting used to delegation and event planning, but with the help of the team I hope to make this year a successful one for the society. Our first event for the year was, of course, the Bunfight.

Planning this turned out to be quite enjoyable, and we decided that the best way to introduce newcomers to Filipino culture is through the stomach.

So, we got sweets!

The Filipino Society’s stall at the bunfight. The tubs on the right hand side are Filipino sweets and chocolate.

Our aim is to bring Filipinos together and to promote our culture – anyone can join, regardless of nationality! But I must state that the sweets weren’t to lure people into signing up for the society. We decided to have them out as it was a good conversation starter and, well, who doesn’t like treats anyway?

We also chatted to prospective members about other events we are planning to hold such as Karaoke nights, Movie nights and last but not the least, our Filipino themed Halloween Party!

Our poster/invite that we handed out at the Bunfight!

The Freshers' Week Bunfight was exceptionally busy this year. Within the first hour we must have chatted to over 100 students! I also had the time to look around other societies’ stalls, and I was surprised to find out about groups that I never even knew existed.

Are you a fan of Harry Potter? Game of Thrones? Did you know that Southampton has a Fandomonium Society where you can express your love for your favourite books, TV shows and more? Amazing!

The Bunfight in full swing! (Credit to University of Southampton’s twitter page)

 Of course there were perks to being a committee member and running a stall too…

The Bunfight pass allowed stall runners to skip the queue and have a wander through the stalls on their breaks!

I also attended the LGBT Society lunch at The Bridge. The purpose of the society is to provide a space for LGBT+ students to socialise with one another and express who they are free from judgement. I believe in this cause so I’ve also decided to join this year.

Me with the LGBT Society Committee

Looking back on my first time at the Bunfight, I realised how easy it was for me to sign up to too many societies. SUSU has over 300 different student groups, including over 80 sport clubs and 30 performing arts groups.

For me, it is far better to actively contribute to one or two clubs or societies than be a passive member of them all!

And so, the final countdown has started; I may have to be a bit more organised but the pleasure principle need not be lost!

Happy socialising!

Rylyn

Getting involved in the Creative Industries

After all that waiting, it’s finally here. The legendary Freshers' Week is now very much upon us. In fact, by the time you’re actually reading this, it’ll most likely already be on its way out. Even as a Third Year shuffling through the unbridled madness for my final time, it seems sad to see it go; the sheer enthusiasm and energy is unlike anything else university has to offer. But, of course, all good things must come to an end, and I guess there are these little things called degrees that we’re actually supposed to be getting on with too!

In fact, for me, the first few weeks re-settling in to the university way of life have actually been about one thing and one thing only. No, not that damn spaceship oven again - I’m talking about the Creative Industries.

As Southampton students will have no doubt noticed by the sheer size and scale of this year’s annual Bunfight (that’s the Union’s societies fair to anyone else), there are an awful lot of societies on offer, ranging from the subject-based to the downright insane. The Creative Industries is built up of a much smaller section of all of these groups and deals with, well, anything creative. This stretches from my own loyalties as Film Editor of the University’s entertainment magazine The Edge, to the likes of SUSUtv and even as far as the circus society.

Of course, in the spirit of creative collaboration, this year saw my first attendance at the annual Creative Industries Induction Week, wherein all the committee members for all of these creative-minded groups hang out in a gigantic room and talk/learn about how to be the best at what we do. It’s a pretty jam-packed week full of all sorts of fun stuff, covering everything from the likes of media law to simple team-building and beyond, giving everyone involved an almost encyclopedic knowledge of our own societies.

The Edge Editorial Team was certainly out in force too, as we took advantage of some incredibly useful workshops on how to use industry-standard software like Adobe InDesign to lay up our latest issue. It may have been slightly fiddly at times, and I may have become rather irate with a certain computer, but ultimately everything just about fell into place, and the new-look designs are pretty incredible. Our first issue of the year has been distributed throughout Freshers week (look out for the odd review inside from yours truly) and our second is on its way to the printers as we speak - so look out for more entertainment-related fun hitting Southampton very soon!

Our stand for The Edge at the Bunfight was a thing of beauty.

Just in case that wasn’t enough, the whole week was topped off with the team-bonding session to end all team-bonding sessions - a DIY laser-quest tournament held within our very own student club The Cube. Equipped with some classic retro Aliens-style laser guns and with plenty of inflatable barricades and camouflage netting around to hide behind, it certainly was a rather epic way to pull the week to a close. Our mixed-society team may have ultimately lost out on the top spot, but we definitely learned an awful lot about communication and team-work along the way.

With the induction over, it was over to the Bunfight to spread the word about just how great the Creative Industries are. I may have been standing around for a shocking amount of time, repeating the same pitch to what felt like hundreds of confused-looking faces, but spreading the word about one of my closest passions, and sharing our work with the University community certainly filled me with an incredible sense of pride and achievement. Joining a society and becoming a part of something bigger really enhances the university experience - I couldn’t recommend it enough!

The Edge and SUSUtv joined forces for some bunfight fun (Image courtesy of SUSUtv)

Freshers’ Week is just a mere taste of the extra-curricular opportunities on offer from the University, and based on the turn-out and enthusiasm so far, it really feels like this is going to be a fantastic year.

Ben