Watt went down at our Volunteer Awards 2024

After an amazing Student Union Oscars event on Thursday, it was all hands-on deck from everyone at the union for a quick turn-around for our Volunteering Awards on Friday the 5^th of April. This event is all about awarding the students at Heriot-Watt for their success within their societies, but more importantly the volunteering that many students put in which quite often goes unnoticed by most people. Everyone who was nominated for an award on the night is incredible and is a great ambassador for our university.

After a full day of decorating, planning and rehearsals from our busy Student Union staff and FTO’s, it was time to get our Volunteering Awards well and truly underway.

Zeros was glowing full of lights and balloons as everyone took to their seats following our drinks reception in liberty’s. The evening was a huge success with another great turnout on the night.

The Volunteer Awards 2024 results were as follows:

 

PRINCIPAL'S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

‘This award recognises a student who has made a significant contribution to our local community outside of Heriot-Watt University. By working with community groups, volunteering, creating a project or being part of a Society or committee, they will have made a difference to those around them. The recipient of this award may have volunteered with local charities or organisations, fundraised, or created a project or event with a local impact.’

Nominees:

• Cameron Fields
• Alannah Barreto
• Charlotte-Ann Oragani-Esamal
• Jil Sheth

Winner – Jil Sheth

 

PRINCIPAL'S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDENT COMMUNITY

‘This award recognises students who have made a significant contribution to the Heriot-Watt University student experience. By working with community groups, volunteering, creating a project or being part of a Society or committee, they will have made a difference to the student community. The recipient may have volunteered or created a project or event with a real tangible impact.’

Nominees:

• Swathi Talzim
• Aryan Jangir
•  Blair Smyth
• Kate Sinclair

Winner – Swathi Talzim

 

OPEN DOOR AWARD

‘This award recognises a student or student group who has contributed to our vibrant, inclusive, and respectful community on campus – creating a truly safe space and tackling loneliness and isolation. Nominees for this award supported cross-cultural activities on campus or created welcoming events for a range of students. They will have also made considerations about accessibility and supported the mental health and wellbeing of students.’

Nominees:

• Blair Smyth
• Krisha Shah
• Muslim Society
• Music Society

Winner – Krishna Shah

 

UNDERGRADUATE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE YEAR

‘Our nominees will have proactively attended university and Student Union meetings, worked in partnership with the university, and ensured the student voice is heard’.

Nominees:

• Nathan Marco
• Kov Ciuchta
•  Lucca Browning
• Lewis Cheetham

Winner – Lucca Browning

 

POSTGRADUATE TAUGHT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE YEAR

‘Our nominees will have proactively attended university and Student Union meetings, worked in partnership with the university, and ensured the student voice is heard.’

Nominees:

• Robert Basake
•  Aashima Poudhar
• Shefali Shirodkar

Winner – Aashima Poudhar

 

POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE YEAR

‘Our nominees will have proactively attended university and Student Union meetings, worked in partnership with the university, and ensured the student voice is heard.’

Nominees:

• Heriet Mhondiwa
• Meng Wu
• Elisabete 'Beta' Rodrigues
• Sarah Goulding

Winner – Sarah Goulding

 

DEPARTMENT OFFICER / SCHOOL MP OF THE YEAR

‘This award recognises a Department Officer or School MP who has contributed to academic improvements and raised awareness of the work of academic representatives and the Student Union through their role, improving the experience for the students. The recipient will have shown strong leadership in ensuring students felt supported and heard.’

Nominees:

• Holly McAdams
• Nathan Graham
• Bhavana Bonthala

Winner – Holly McAdams

 

ACADEMIC ENHANCEMENT AWARD

‘This award recognises a student or student group who has helped you academically. Whether it's a society which has hosted revision sessions near exams or organised course-enriching events, or Class Reps and School Officers who have listened to your academic issues and brought them to the attention of the University. These people have helped you with your studies off their own backs. They are driven to improve your academic experience at Heriot-Watt and help develop an inclusive and exciting learning community.’

Nominees:

• Megan Ongley and Rachel Poole
• Signing Society
• Students' Actuarial Society

Winner – Megan Ongley and Rachel Poole

 

STRIVE FOR SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

‘This award recognises a student or student group who has made an outstanding effort to promote sustainability on campus and in the community more widely. The recipient or recipients of this award may have promoted conversations about sustainability, upskilled other people in sustainability, or signposted others to relevant University and community services.’

Nominees:

• NetZero Society
• Lucie Stewart
• Eco Society

Winner – NetZero Society

 

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE OF THE YEAR

‘The award recognises a society or a group of students who have worked hard to produce excellent content across their social media platforms. Their social media is regularly updated with relevant posts, has a high rate of engagement, and reflects well on our community.’

Nominees:

• Mountaineering Club
• Indian Society
• Students' Actuarial Society
• Signing Society

Winner – Indian Society

 

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

‘We would like to shed light a truly selfless and kind individual, someone who has spread their creative energy within the community and given the opportunity for countless students to express themselves through different forms of art. A lot of the time this individual has invested in art supplies and materials out of their own pocket to put on some spectacular events like super chill bob ross paint along and some mega groovy clay sessions.’

Winner - Jone Hernandez Gardeazabal

 

EVENT OF THE YEAR

‘This award recognises a society or group of students who have worked together to produce an excellent event for others, providing students with somewhere to belong, with a friendly and welcoming attitude.’

Nominees:

• Music Society Battle of the Bands
• Muslim Society Multicultural Dinner
• Disabled Students' Society Accessible Club Night

Winner – Disabled Student’s Society Accessible Club Night

 

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

‘This one goes to a volunteer who is incredibly hard working and always gives 110%. With an incredible creative flair, she is always keeping busy. Her positive attitude and cheery smile is noticed by everyone, and this positive impact has even led to increased sales in ReLoved. She’s made plenty of suggestions to make ReLoved even more of a useful service on campus for students and raise awareness of re-using clothing.’

Winner – Lucie Stewart

 

NEW SOCIETY OF THE YEAR

‘This year we saw several new societies start up and become a part of the Student Union community. This award recognises a society which has been part of the Student Union for 1 calendar year or less. It will have engaged lots of members, held successful events, and really made a name for themselves with students across campus through excellent teamwork, innovative ideas and sheer determination. The society will have been open to everyone, creating opportunities and memories for all members.’

Nominees:

• BioPrints Society
• International Cultural Society
• Engineers Without Borders

Winner – International Cultural Society

 

STEFAN KAY VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

‘The Stefan Kay Volunteer of the Year award recognises an individual student who has gone above and beyond in their role by being a Student Volunteer. The student who receives this recognition will have contributed to the student community through their activities as a Society Office Bearer, Class Rep, School Officer, Member of Student Parliament, or Lead Volunteer on a project. They will have created an inclusive and supportive environment in which all students feel welcomed, and represented within their Programme, School, Society or the Student Union and they will have helped students feel less isolated over this academic year.’

Nominees:

• Jacob Ross
• Sára Masajídková
• Zenab Akhtar
• Misbah Chaudry

Winner – Sara Masojidkova

 

SOCIETY OF THE YEAR

‘This award recognises a society which has been part of the Student Union for over 1 calendar year. It will have impressed its members by exceeding expectations, pushing themselves to do more and engage more students than before through excellent teamwork, innovative ideas, and sheer determination. The society will have been open to everyone, creating opportunities and memories for all members.’

Nominees:

• Indian Society
• Students' Actuarial Society
• Music Society

Winner – Indian Society

 

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

‘Beyond their roles in the Union and the University, the pair have gone above and beyond to help us improve the student experience in Gala - always with a great sense of humour and high energy, even after a long Freshers Week. From badminton to social events, to helping us with directions on and off campus – we would have been at a real loss if it weren’t for these two.

It’s been a pleasure for us as an FTO team to work alongside you both and get to know you, and it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t recognise all of your hard work in some way.’

Winner – Roksana Stepniewska and Matea Mandaric

 

SOCIETY LEADER OF THE YEAR

‘This award recognises a Society Office Bearer who has contributed to enhancing the society community at Heriot-Watt. This exceptional leader will have gone above and beyond to inspire others in their society as well as being a great representative of the Student Union. This recipient will have made a great contribution to the running and improving of the society that they are a part of. They have, time and time again, shown initiative and strong leadership. The winner of this award will have been a friendly face to all and will have promoted an inclusive and supportive environment to new and current members.’

Nominees:

• Elise Brunsden
• Omair Khalid
• Harshita Chhabra

Winner – Elise Brunsden

 

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S AWARD FOR LEADERSHIP

‘This award recognises a student whose skills and attributes as a leader have been highlighted across multiple award categories or demonstrated across multiple events throughout the year. They will have been a familiar, helpful face around Heriot-Watt, and their ability to empower others will have been evident in everything they do.’

Nominees:

• Harshita Chhabra
• Omair Khalid
• Jone Hernandez Gardeazabal

Winner – Harshita Chhabra

 

VOLUNTEERING HOURS AWARDS

‘Every year, our volunteers work tirelessly not only spending countless hours helping others, but also loads of admin behind the scenes. Each volunteer activity is logged with us, and the Volunteering Hours Awards are a recognition of the extraordinary number of hours dedicated to volunteering roles by our students.’

 

Congratulations to all of the students who achieved a Bronze award for logging at least 50 hours of volunteering.

 

Congratulations to all of the students who achieved a Silver award for logging at least 100 hours of volunteering.

 

Congratulations to all of the students who achieved a Gold award for logging at least 200 hours of volunteering.

 

Our Platinum award winning students were:

• Cade Brown
• Elise De Backer
• Jake Douglas
• Claudia Garcia Mendoza
• Liza Masson
• Megan Ongley
• Bruce Wilson

All these students recorded over 300 hours of volunteering work! Huge congratulations to you all!

 

Our Ruby award winning students were:

• Mario Fuente Rodriguez
• Rachel Poole
• Kate Sinclair

All these students recorded over 400 hours of volunteering work! Huge congratulations to you all!

 

Our Diamond award winning students were:

• Cameron Fields
• Vatsan Karunanithi
• Zafeer Khan
• Charlotte-Ann Oragani-Esamal
• Jil Sheth
• Blair Smyth
• Ashween Virdee
• Andrew Wiseman

All these students recorded over 500 hours of volunteering work! Huge congratulations to you all!

 

After a wonderful evening of awards, it back through to Liberty’s for more drinks, nibbles and to snap a few photos in the photobooth. With live music being played in Geordies as well, it rounded off an amazing night for all involved.

Huge thanks to each and every one who contributed towards the planning, setting up, and running of our Volunteer Awards 2024 event. And an even bigger thanks to everyone who put fourth nominations, as these events wouldn’t be possible without students putting forward their nominations.

We hope that everyone who attended on the night had an enjoyable evening. One final congratulations must go to all of our Volunteer Award winners!

Keep up the amazing work, and we hope to see you back in 2025!