My name:
Natalie Baker
My role:
President of the Students Association
Information about my role:
As the President of the Students Association, it is my role to lead and empower the Student Leadership Team (SLT) to ensure that they can advocate for students on the issues that matter to them. As I sit within the higher governance levels, I will also be representing students in the spaces where change happens, and will ensure students are always a part of any decision-making.
My priorities for the 2024–26 term:
As the previous Vice President Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (VP EDI) and being a disabled person, EDI will always be close to my heart, and it represents the mission of the OU to be ‘open to all’. One of my priorities is to ensure that we continue the work from the previous SLT around support for our Neurodivergent students and helping those who, due to several barriers, are not able to access diagnoses, affecting the support they can access.
I am also focused on ensuring that we have welcoming and inclusive community spaces. Being an OU student is not easy and having that support of peers can make such a difference.
What I have been up to and what I’m currently working on:
As mentioned above, I have been the VP EDI for the 22/24 term, and as such I have been involved in several exciting projects (eg: the launch of the EDI newsletter, which provides updates from the Student Support Groups and the OU). I have also been working with the Association EDI staff team to put together focus groups and surveys to capture the views of our Neurodivergent students as the first step to providing better support for them.
What I’m studying:
I have just completed my BSc (Hons) Psychology with Counselling Degree, and I am eagerly awaiting my degree ceremony in October.
What I do when I’m not studying:
My time away from study is spent with my family. I have two boys, a fiancé and a dog, and they are a great support for me. They understand how changeable my health is, and are always up for a films and duvet day on the days when my body doesn’t want to work. I do also enjoy reading, watching or listening to anything true crime-related, and tend to relax my mind with some colouring in or crafting.
My top study tips:
Plan! Plan! Plan! Planning is essential when studying and trying to juggle all the other commitments many students have, and for me planning helps me feel like I at least have some idea of what I’m doing (and it makes use of my obsession with stationery and notebooks!).
Resting and taking care of yourself are also important! Plan in rest time or at least something that is not course related even if for a short time and reach out to someone if you feel overwhelmed or lonely chances are there are other students feeling the same.
And finally, no study session is complete without snacks!
How to contact me:
Email: oustudents-president@open.ac.uk
Please note that a handful of Association staff team members have access to this mailbox.
Twitter / X: @OpenPresident