This is it, my final blog – I had a quick look back yesterday at my very first blog and notice that I said blogging was the job I was least looking forward to and it still is.

I cannot believe it’s been almost 12 months since that first gathering we had in Preston, and what a 12 months it’s been. We’ve fallen in and out with each other, we’ve had heated, sometimes pointless, debates but above all I think we’ve had fun, we’ve learnt a lot and we’ve achieved a lot.

I’ve been involved in student politics now for five years, from being a freshers volunteer and Union Councillor to being a member of the NUS NEC and running for election to a full time post and I’m proud of everything I have done and been involved in.

Some of the achievements I am most proud of are:

• Winning the fight to stop the closure of charity projects for students to work with disadvantaged children and vulnerable adults. This meant a lot to me as I’d actually volunteered on a couple of them and had grown really fond of the kids and appreciated the opportunity it gave students to give something back to the community

• Setting up a student representation structure at Hull, against the grain at the University and receiving recognition from the QAA as a model of good practise

• Campaigning against the closure of the Chemistry department in Hull and winning

• Securing a 62% increase in my Union’s block grant at Hull, after the University had threatened a CUT

• Leading the campaign in NUS to approve NUS Extra, hopefully this will secure NUS financial position for years to come

• Fighting to get the University of Hull to recognise the detrimental effect it’s semesterisation policies were having on students mental health and finally winning

• Leading the debate in NUS on Governance and the Charities Bill, which may not be exciting, but has opened up a huge debate within the movement and should help us out of the stagnant introspection and defeatism we’ve been experiencing of late

• Campaigning against the privatisation of Halls of residence at Hull, and winning, as well as securing increased funding for renovations

• Saving the Students’ Union Nursery from closure, when the University threatened to starve it of funding, ensuring that all the widening participation students who used didn’t have their education ruined by callous cut-backs

• Leading the debate against NUS boycotting Coca Cola, a decision that signals the movements rejection of knee-jerk anti-capitalism and moves towards working in solidarity with trade union partners across the world

I have met some fantastic people, who’s dedication and commitment to campaigning and student politics never cease to amaze me and I’m sure I’ll keep in touch with them. Particular thanks to Martin Rennison, Matt Hurst and Beverly Fairburn for being there for me when it seemed everyone had turned their backs on me and to Julie Watson, Sarah Blount and Paul Tatton at Hull for keeping my feet firmly on the ground and reminding me what life is really all about.

I think NUS is now in a much better state than when I first started taking an interest in it, back when we were campaigning against top-up fees. Two years ago, it was unreformed, facing bankruptcy and deeply politically corrupt. All of those threats haven’t gone away, there’s so much the organisation can and needs to do to change, I hope that I have helped that along a little.

The strategic plan that Gemma has co-ordinated this year is ambitious and sets a new course for the organisation. The whole document is geared towards organising activists, who will campaign and work together to improve the lot of students and the world in which we live. No mean feat, but one I’ll be keen to see unfold.

I’m hopeless at passing around contact details, so for those of you who want to keep in touch, I’ll be hanging on to my old mobile phone number and you can email me or add me to your msn list at derfelowen@hotmail.com

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