TGt Meets...Caroline Jarosz, Student Participation Officer at Bath College

Meet our latest TGt Meets...Caroline Jarosz, Student Participation Officer at Bath College. We got to know all about her role at Bath College and why she chose to work there!

What was your career before you started this job?

I was a primary teacher for too many years to count!

Why did you choose to work at Bath College?

I wanted a fresh challenge and I liked the idea of offering students positive experiences outside their learning. I’m a big believer in getting the work/life balance right.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Every now and again I bump into students that I taught when they were little and I love seeing what great young adults they have turned into- it’s nice to think that I may have played a little part in their road to success!

Could you explain your role?

It is my job to organise lots of fun and worthwhile things for students to do outside of their lessons and to make their time at college enjoyable and worthwhile. It might involve running health campaigns like ‘Stoptober’ or ‘Mental health awareness day’, or providing volunteering opportunities within the community, or fundraising for charity as well as arranging social events.

I get to meet with lots of interesting outside agencies who are on hand to offer expert advice and resources.  I also help run the student union and sometimes, my role is just being a good listener or being there to have a chat about everything and nothing- it’s a really varied role!

What do you love about being a Student Participation Officer?

That’s easy- I love getting to know the students and seeing them enjoy the events and activities that we have organised is a great feeling. On top of that, I get to work with a great team on two very different types of campus-one in the hectic city and one in beautiful rural surroundings- and both sites have super-fantastic students. It means that no two days are ever the same which I love!

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who was interested in the role that you do?

Don’t take yourself too seriously because at some point, you will DEFINITELY be dressing up in some weird and wonderful costume in order to put your point across!

What has this job taught you?

LOADS!!!... But two main things:

• Firstly; the key to feeling good about yourself begins with being kind to yourself, as well as being kind to others.
• Secondly; the more you put into life the more you get out of it.

What makes you motivated to continuously carry out this role?

Young people are under huge amounts of pressure. It’s my aim to help students to combat this by taking the time to look after themselves by staying healthy, doing worthwhile things and having fun outside of studying. It feels like a great privilege to be able to offer that and hopefully make a positive difference.

What is the best thing you have done in your role so far?

Helping organise and run our wellbeing festival was a real highlight for me. It was great to see students taking a moment out of their busy lives to enjoy all sorts of activities from the bouncy castle to hula-hooping or face painting to hand massages, AND they got to find out useful information from services like Kooth (mental health and emotional support services) and ‘Uni-Boob’ (breast check advice) along the way!- there was even an ice-cream van! What’s not to like?

What do you hope to achieve in the future?

I’m looking for even more ways to involve our students in a wider range of volunteering opportunities amongst other things. This will be great for them and even better for those they help as well.

Interested to find out more about Bath College click HERE!