Students, what a year it has been at Huddersfield.

I’m sure you’ll all agree it has been a year packed full of amazing events, trips, and moments you will treasure for the rest of your lives.

From kicking off the year with Freshers’ and raving to DJ Fresh on top of someone’s shoulders at HudLive, to reliving it all again in January with HudCrawl for Refreshers’. From winning your first fixture of the season all the way through to winning your last fixture of the season at Varsity and lifting the trophy. It really has been a 12 months to remember.

And not only are these moments that you will treasure for the rest of your lives but also moments I will treasure for the rest of my life.

In fact it’s not just this past year that I’m currently reflecting on, but the past five years - as this is my last year at Huddersfield... I know, try not to miss me too much.

So as I look back on my past year as President, there’s so much for me to be proud of.

Events, Campaigns and Wins

Freshers’ was by miles the biggest and best we have ever staged as a Students’ Union. You know yourselves just how massive that week was (unless you were hiding under a rock or otherwise nursing a week-long hangover).

We held our first official bonfire event, which thankfully didn’t go up in flames... Well, I suppose it kind of did.

I’m really proud of my officers this year. They have certainly been one of the most effective Exec teams Huddersfield has ever had.

From Alysia securing the University to act as a guarantor, to Coco engaging with the local community in democracy; from Mike pulling off an outstanding inaugural Educating Huddersfield event, to Jordan developing the Activities Quality Mark for activity groups – and seeking national recognition for it in its first year!

I really am like a proud parent and the Union is in safe hands next year with those guys, and the two newbies to help them have an even more successful year.

We’ve had a busy year with campaigns – Know Your Course Rep and the General Election campaign to name just a couple.

The General Election was our biggest this year, from gathering student input and ideas at the start, to getting students registered to vote right through to encouraging them to turnout and cast their ballots.

This was one of most successful achievements this year and I was proud to lead such a worthwhile campaign.

We engaged with more than 3000 students who registered to vote. We had friendly student staff that were brilliant at talking to students about registering to vote, both on campus and at halls of residence. In addition to that, not only did we engage with students from the University, but Officers and student staff also reached out to local colleges to ensure more young people were registered to have their say in the General Election.

Record Breakers

Records certainly didn’t go unbeaten this year either.

And on the topic of elections, our own SU Elections saw its percentage turnout smashed this year, with 27% of our members voting on who they want to lead the Union for the next 12 months.

We’ve had more Course Reps trained, achieving more positive changes than ever before for their classmates.

We’ve also never seen so many students a part of either a society or a sports club – so again, the records just keep coming in!

This is why I am proud of what Huddersfield Students’ Union has achieved this year, and from being here for the last five years, I know first-hand just how far this Union has come since then.

It’s a great time to be a student at Huddersfield, it really is. You’ve got a great Students’ Union that supports you, whether it’s to offer impartial and confidential advice, to help you with your housing or your finances, to putting on professional events and supporting students get the most out of their time at University.

You’ve got a lot to look forward to and I’m just glad to have been a part of the great things the SU has done so far.

Like you, I’ve made many friends along the way, and I’m sure you’ll see me lingering around next year on a Wednesday night – did you really think you’d get rid of me that easily?

But as President at least, farewell Huddersfield.

It’s been a pleasure, and I’m proud at what we have all achieved together.

Josh Elderfield

SU President

P.S. I wasn’t joking, I actually probably will be lingering somewhere. Seriously, Huddersfield can’t get rid of me that easily.