Meet the Team – Open Day

Around 6,000 people visited our recent Open Days in September.

With another taking place on 14 October, Southampton Connects Staff speaks to the Open Day team to find out what it takes to successfully stage such high-profile events and why they are so important to the University.

Rachel Paternoster – UK Student Recruitment Events Officer

My role is very varied. I don’t have a typical day as such, but I do spend a significant amount of time problem solving, looking for opportunities to improve our overall offering during our recruitment events and finding ways to continuously improve the visitor experience.

For many of us at the University our roles are not forward facing, so it is easy to forget that you actually work with a community of vibrant students. That’s why the Open Day events provide the opportunity for staff to meet prospective students and their families and engage with them.

In my role, which I have been in for almost three years, I also have the opportunity to work with many different stakeholders.

I really enjoy building relationships and working with them to find the best ways to showcase the University. It is amazing what you can achieve when you work collaboratively!

Sarah Ford-Evans – UK Student Recruitment Events Coordinator

I was inspired to go into this career as I just love organising. Working in Events is a really fun and rewarding way of utilising this skill – you get to see all of your organisation pay off when everything comes together at an Open Day.

A lot of my time is spent organising logistics for the Open Days or other student recruitment events. Most of my tasks are focused on continuing to improve the visitor experience.

One of my main challenges is making sure everyone is on board and up to date with arrangements, which can be tricky. It relies on making sure we are regularly communicating with everyone involved, and that no-one gets missed.

Most students decide whether or not to apply to Southampton based on their Open Day experience. This experience therefore needs to be memorable and positive enough that they also decide to put us as their first choice on their UCAS application, or at least visit us again.

The most enjoyable aspect of my role, which I have been in for over five years, is problem solving. Sometimes the smallest tweaks can make the biggest difference.

Sophie Farmer – Student Recruitment Events Assistant

I really enjoy the variety of my job. One day I could be delivering a talk to a visiting school about staying safe online, and the next I could be delivering training to student ambassadors or organising a new and exciting event at the University.

I really wanted to be part of department that helped prospective students in their decision-making processes around what University they should attend.

For example, Open Days are a fantastic opportunity for staff to see how much work goes into ensuring our prospective students have the best experience when they visit us. The atmosphere is always vibrant.

I would say the main challenge in my role, which I have been in for just over three years, is recruiting student ambassadors. We aim to recruit over 200 for each Open Day at the University, so I have to find students who are bubbly, enthusiastic and available to work!