Where I am

Hey hey… I had a thought this morning that there may not be much behind a set of posts, a few interests and vaguely witty, largely self-deprecating humour.  So here’s a short post to show you where I am and what I do.

Apart from research, I am what is called a Resident Tutor.  This means that one night per week and one weekend per month, my duty is to provide pastoral support and advice to students and ensure their welfare during their time in student halls.  Although this has its own set of challenges, it is definitely worth the effort.  The positive side of the job far outweighs its negative counterpart and includes most importantly the gratification of helping others.

This is definitely one of the aspects that drew me to do this not to mention the opportunity to really be engaged with the University (of Bath) at grassroots level, on the frontline as it were with the students, dealing with them as people not pieces of paper, application forms or cells of an Excel spreadsheet as they are represented in other departments.  Resident Tutors and in turn their support base provide real and direct support for every student that calls on us.  The particular residence I live in looks a bit like this:

 

…and tagged on the end is the accommodation for the national teams (below) that come to train on the University’s grounds… including the England Rugby Team!

All this is about a ten-minute walk from the centre of Bath and the same distance from the train and bus stations, which is really convenient to get to university (which is, if I miss the bus, only half-an-hour’s walk away…) 

…so, yeah, that’s a little bit of background for you and, don’t forget, if you are a postgraduate student at a university and want a more inclusive outlook, significantly developed communication skills and a generally ‘bigger’ life, become a resident tutor!