Press release issued 21 June 2013
The University of Bristol Students’ Union (UBU) has been celebrating outstanding student achievement this week by holding a series of award nights to honour the students and staff who make a difference.
Held in the Victoria Rooms, the black-tie ceremony was a night to remember, honouring student activity through societies, sports clubs, volunteering and fundraising alongside outstanding contributions by individual students and University and Students’ Union staff members.
Nearly 300 people attended the event, including the Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson, Dr Shaheen Chaudhry, High Sheriff of Bristol, mayoral candidate Marvin Rees, Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Nick Lieven and Darren McCaffrey, a former Bristol student who is now a reporter and producer at Sky News. The event is a highlight of the UBU calendar and a fitting tribute to the hard work of students and staff at the University of Bristol.
Samantha Budd, Chief Executive of UBU, said: “Each year thousands of the students engage in a really wide range of projects and activities through the Students' Union. The contribution that they make to improving the University's reputation as well as giving back to the local community is often overlooked. This series of awards has helped raise awareness and recognised the quality and breadth of that contribution.”
And the winners were...
The winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Bristol Life category, Pauli Platek, was chosen by readers of The Post. Pauli set up Clothes Line, a project that provides free business clothes to young homeless people for college and job interviews.
A UBU Special Service Award was presented to Sue White, an Accounts Administrator who has been working for the Students’ Union for 29 years. The three outgoing full-time Elected Officers - Paul Charlton, Alice Peck and Martha West - were given Honorary Lifetime Membership to the Students’ Union, as was Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education Nick Lieven.
The week of award nights began on Monday, 17 June, with the Society and Media Awards, followed by the Sports Awards on Tuesday and the RAG and Volunteering Awards on Wednesday. Each showcased the talent, dedication and altruism of the University of Bristol student body.
The contribution that they make to improving the university's reputation as well as giving back to the local community is often overlooked. This series of awards has helped raise awareness and recognised the quality and breadth of that contribution
