September has been a brilliant month for student groups at Huddersfield Students' Union. From welcoming new members and putting on taster sessions, to building new collaborations and celebrating culture, our societies and groups have been busy getting the new academic year off to a great start.
Each month, we'll be highlighting some of the groups who have gone above and beyond, celebrating the work they're doing and the communities they're building.
Our September winners
Global Society of the Month: Sri Lankan Society
"They are just delightful to work with!"
In their words: What have we been doing?
September has been a really positive and memorable start to the new academic year for the Sri Lankan Society. The preparation we carried out in August played a major role in helping us approach Welcome Week with better organisation, confidence and clear ideas for student engagement.
During August, we focused on planning how we wanted to represent the society, preparing ideas for our Welcome Fair stall, thinking about interactive activities, organising performances and discussing ways to make the society more welcoming to new students. This preparation gave us a strong foundation and helped us turn our ideas into action throughout September.
At the Welcome Fair, our committee worked together to set up and run an interactive stall. Rather than simply promoting the society, we used different games and activities to encourage students to stop, interact and learn more about us. The reaction game became particularly popular and created a fun atmosphere around our stall.
We also had the opportunity to showcase Sri Lankan student talent through Ravindu and Abinisha's duet performance on the Welcome Fair stage.
One of the things we particularly enjoyed was getting to meet so many Students' Union staff members and having the opportunity to get to know them better during the Welcome Fair and throughout Welcome Week. It helped us feel more connected to the wider Students' Union community and made our first experience as a new committee even more enjoyable.
Our involvement continued through Welcome Night, where several committee members participated and contributed to performances on stage. It was a particularly special evening for us. Singing, enjoying the performances and celebrating together with other students and SU staff created a real sense of community.
We have also started developing collaborations with other societies, including the Thai Boxing Society and Tree Planting Society. These discussions have already made progress, and we hope to turn them into joint activities and events as the year continues.
Alongside our in-person engagement, we have been welcoming new members and encouraging students to join our Students' Union Sri Lankan Society page so they can stay connected with upcoming activities.
Overall, August gave us the preparation and September gave us the opportunity to put those plans into practice. We are really proud of the teamwork, creativity and enthusiasm shown by our committee, and especially grateful for the warm welcome we received from students and SU staff.
September has not only helped us grow the society, but has also helped us build relationships and create a stronger sense of community. We are excited to carry this momentum forward, grow our membership, strengthen collaborations and create more opportunities to celebrate Sri Lankan culture, talent and community throughout the year.
Society of the Month: Dance
"They have begun this year exactly how they left off last year. This committee is just as much a delight to work with as previous committees have been, and we didn't want to wait until Showcase 2027 before acknowledging their hard work."
In their words: A brilliant Welcome Week
We had a really great Welcome Week for Dance, meeting lots of new members and welcoming students into the society.
Monday: We were at the Freshers Fair with games including Guess the Dance Move, Pin the Tail onto Pinky and our mascot, Pinky the Axolotl. We also danced a couple of routines on the University stage and were able to get lots of Freshers to join us on the orange route for HudCrawl.
Wednesday: Our first taster class of the year was completely sold out! The styles included contemporary and street. It was lovely to meet so many new people.
In the evening, our weekly social took place, where we met all the Freshers, introduced them to our returning social members and showed them the ropes of a Wednesday night out in Huddersfield.
Thursday: Our second taster class of the week was another great session. It was really good to see people who had attended on Wednesday coming back, as well as lots of new faces. We had a fun taster with Zumba and ballet being taught.
Friday: We held our sober social for the week, where we played games and got to know each other better.
Next week, we have our competition classes and showcase classes starting. We will also be running our This Girl Can taster to encourage more girls to take part in sport.
We just want to thank everyone at the Students' Union for all their help over Welcome Week. It has been really helpful, especially as our committee is all new to this.
Our Social Media Manager, Libby G, has also gone the extra mile this week with posting and creating content for us!
Academic Society of the Month: Acting and Theatre
"Acting and Theatre have continued their great efforts from last year into the new academic year. They have been great to work with, with strong communication and lots of exciting plans for Term 1."
It has been amazing hearing all their plans, and we're very excited to see them continue to thrive following successful auditions for their upcoming shows.
The society has started the new academic year exactly where they left off, continuing to put plenty of time and energy into their society and its members.
Their strong communication and organisation have made them a great group to work with, and we're looking forward to seeing their Term 1 plans come to life.
Following successful auditions for their upcoming shows, there is already plenty to look forward to from Acting and Theatre this year.
Keep up the great work!
Sports Society of the Month: Hudds Motorsport
"Hudds Motorsport are our Sports Society of the Month following the success of their taster session and their exciting rebrand."
Hudds Motorsport have had a fantastic start to the new academic year, combining a successful taster session with a fresh new look for the society.
Their rebrand has helped give the society a renewed identity as they look to introduce themselves to new students and grow their community.
Their taster session was a great opportunity for students to find out more about Hudds Motorsport, meet the committee and see what the society has to offer.
We're looking forward to seeing the society continue to grow throughout the year and finding out what they have planned next.
Want to get involved?
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