About Me
Hi there lovely RGU students my name is Nathan McNaughton a 4th year communication and design student here at Grey’s school of art. I specialise in documentary photography which as my final year major project t I went to Samos Greece to document the work of the charity Refugees 4 Refugees. During my months stay on the island I took part in providing aid to refugees primarily from Syria and Afghanistan. I have also done two other international charity projects one in Colombia and took part in the international citizen service in Nepal. I have also been an active member of the university as a Student Ambassador within the Delta department. My main responsibility as part of this was to steward and inspire the S5/6 pupils who meet university criteria for extra support onto campus for 12 weeks to take part in mini-course. I was so inspired by the young people from day one not knowing much about university till completion of the course having a greater idea of there future. I believe both my international volunteer and work within the university put me in prime spot to take the mantle of student president and hope you got to know about me more.
My student experience and what needs to change
Accommodation - Over the past two years I have been living in Aberdeen and studying within Gathdee annexe campus. I have lived in booth RGU student accommodation and private registered company accommodation. My time living at student accommodation has taught me many lessons good and bad. I believe my experience has been overall positive within accommodation however there still more to be done. We need to tackle student poverty in particular food poverty as I have personally suffered the effects of this. We also need to create a greater relationship with the community within and out with the accommodation, so everyone knows each other and there for support. I found that staff from RGU accommodation are very great and work hard to adapt to our needs.
Campus - I have been studying at Grey’s school of art partial in the Gathdee Annex within the communication design studios as part of my degree. Being one of the older buildings within the campus my time there has had mix feelings however the staff and equipment are up to a great standard. I also enjoy the other facilities of the school from the other schools to all the sports and activities. I would like to see if it was possible to move the art-related books into the art school to make them more accessible for students there. With the current transition from Aramark catering contract ending, I would like to see students enjoying the new food life at RGU when it comes as the current cafes have mixed responses. I am also amazed at how culturally diverse RGU is as a university. We have such a wide body of students from all walks of life and a big international community here at RGU. Following on from last year I would like to develop more campaign ideas especial in the multiculturally day the union hosted last year by making it bigger and better.
Action Plan
- Develop further the community of culture we have here at RGU in order for all students to feel part of the community and have a voice.
- Promote student accommodation that the university offers while making sure the support mechanisms are up to date. Also, develop a system so we know which students’ financial difficulties get the support they need.
- Develop a better support network for students who have extra support needs and who may be living away from home.
- Further, the work of DELTA department within their Access to program to get more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds get involved in further education to see their dreams.
I hope I have shown to you why you should vote for me to be your President for Communication & Democracy here at RGU. So please vote for me to be your first or second candidate