Introducing the new Student Carer Officer for 2022/23 – Stacey Marie Cornish
GCU is celebrating Carers Week by highlighting the support available to both students and staff carers whilst at university.
Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the challenges that unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK.
We spoke to newly appointed Student Carer Officer and Child Nursing student Stacey Marie Cornish about her new role, and how she can help support student carers at GCU:
Tell us a bit about your role – what does the Student Carer Officer do?
"I am the Student Carer Officer for 2022/23, and my role involves representing all student carers at GCU. Part of the role is to advocate for student carers, due to the extra pressures that they have when attending university. They may struggle to meet deadlines, attend classes, submit coursework and generally miss out on things happening. There’s so many other things that student carers might struggle with, compared to a normal student.
With the help of the Student Carer Officer and the Wellbeing team, we can help come up with a carer’s plan which we can put into action for the student and this then gets passed to their lecturer. This is just one of the things that we can offer to student carers, as all of this support comes under the university’s carer policy. The policy, known as GCU’s Carer Pledge, and it exists to make sure that there is extra support for the student. It acts differently from traditional mitigating circumstances, but it allows the university to recognise that the student is a carer and the responsibilities that come with it."
For those who don’t know, what is the term ‘student carer’?
"Firstly, a carer is someone who cares for a family relative, friend or loved one that might have a chronic illness, disability, or problems with addiction – but they aren’t being paid or doing the role as a healthcare professional. If you are then attending university in addition to caring for someone, you are then categorised as a student carer."
From your point of view, why is Carer’s Week so important?
"Carer’s Week is extremely important, because it helps highlight carers in general and the realities of their role - especially throughout the pandemic. Without carers, the country would have fallen apart and Carer’s Week really highlights the importance of unpaid carers. It also really emphasizes the need for unpaid carers to be recognized, especially for those who may not even realise that they’re a carer themselves. It just shows how important these public campaigns are, because it allows people to realise that there is support out there for those who may be experiencing difficulties whilst being an unpaid carer, especially those who are studying full time."
What advice would you give to student carers?
"My advice to student carers who are just starting university is to seek out the support as early as possible. If the support isn’t identified early in the course, then the more difficult it can become for the student as they go through their degree. The support is there for you as soon as you start university, and you’ll have a much higher chance of success knowing that your caring responsibilities are being recognised. It’s important to realise that it’s not a bad thing to seek out support – it doesn’t mean you’re a bad student or a bad carer, it’s actually the opposite!
Once students return next academic year, I plan on hosting a series of events for student carers to get involved in. These will be a great chance for student carers to come together and develop a support network, so watch this space!"
Find out more about the support available to student carers on the GCU Wellbeing website
By Rachael McAlonan
Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media