Welcome back to the students who are returning and congratulations to those of you who are starting out. I’m Melissa Schmidtke a 2^nd year Psychology student who is also your NUSA Activities convenor and Vice President for 2006.

What is an Activities convenor I hear you ask, well it is my job to organise and promote activities that are run by NUSA. It is also within my job profile to communicate with all the affiliated clubs and societies on campus.

So far this Year I have been responsible for organising and running NUSA’S general O’Week activities, such as the campus tours and information sessions. This year I also plan the run markets in the Auchmuty courtyard every Wednesday. If all goes to plan the markets will start running from the end of March this year. I also plan to hold a festival on the first market day to celebrate the launch of the Uni markets.

As Vice President I also want to help fellow students with problems they may be experiencing at University, be it grievances with Academic Staff or that you simply can’t understand what courses you are meant to be enrolled in for your degree. I will assist you as much as I can and if I can’t provide an answer or at least assist you in finding it, I will definitely find someone who can help you with your problem.

However my job doesn’t stop there, as NUSA Vice President I plan to ensure the ongoing and smooth running of NUSA under the incoming VSU in second semester. This year will be our hardest as we don’t know what to expect come next semester, however the one thing that is certain is that we need the ongoing support of the student body in order for us (NUSA) to give that same ongoing support back to the students, its members.

So if anyone ever has any questions about current or future activities of NUSA, or about how to get in contact with either clubs and societies or NUSA collectives I’m the person to speak to. You can contact me via email or through NUSA.

Good luck with your studies in 2006.

Melissa Schmidtke

Melissa.Schmidtke(AT)studentmail.newcastle.edu.au