Reflecting on my first year in halls

Hi, my name is Jade, I’m a second-year student studying Fine art at Central Saint Martins.

I lived and worked part-time at Sketch House as a Hall Rep in my first year. These are the reasons I wanted to work in halls!

1. To make friends in my first year

When moving to a new university and city, it's often difficult to adapt. During my first training event as a Hall Rep, I got to meet over 30 people who were in the same situation as me. As we were going to start the same job and we studied at the same university, it was really easy to meet people. Then, during Welcome Weekend when all the reps helped students move in, I spoke to over 200 people and a lot of the were in the course as me or had mutual interests. 

2. To earn money whilst studying

As we all find out, the student loan only stretches so far… topping it up with an extra income always helps either to pay for rent or luxuries like your favourite takeaway.  

3. Work flexibility 

When working as students, it’s nice to have an employer who understands your deadlines. As Halls Life is run through UAL, your class schedule and work schedule are synced. This means I don’t have any clashes between lectures and work, unlike other part time jobs. 

4. To learn new skills

Working at different events, I learnt how to pot plants, twerk, how to vogue, and even how to make vegan fish and chips. Even before I started working as a rep, there was a two-week training period. During this I learnt food health safety and mental health first aid. These were things I hadn’t thought about before but came in handy in the role. 

5. For experiences

I got paid to take part and run some really amazing events. Some of my favourite events included outdoor cinema, monthly theatre trips to see “Everyone’s talking about Jamie” and overnight trips like the time we spent at Stonehenge.

Being part of Halls Life has really enhanced my first year at UAL!

The role is so much more varied that I thought:

• You get to do fun, hands on activities with loads of students (I carved pumpkins with over 40 students!).
• You get to go on trips to amazing places across the country. I got to explore Oxford, Bath and Stonehenge. 
• You get to experience cultural events. I watched dragon-lantern dancing at an International Food Festival. 
• Every week feels different, you get to be involved in different kinds of activities. 
• It's more than just organising events - I made strong connections and new friends. 
• I learnt more about myself and developed new skills. 

If you want to be part of Halls Life like Jade, you can apply to become a Hall Committee member. Applications open in Term 3, so keep an eye out for your e-mails.