Huddersfield placement student recognised as rising star
Placement student Amy Maher has been recognised with a Rising Star TUCO Award.
TUCO is the leading professional membership body for in-house caterers operating in the higher, further education and public sector. The annual TUCO Awards recognise and celebrate the effort, improvement and achievement from all levels of staff.
Amy, who is a Graphic Design student in the School of Arts and Humanities, was recognised for her hard work and innovative approach to marketing the Catering Services at the University of Huddersfield.
“I was flattered to even be nominated for the TUCO award and when I saw the competition I never thought I would actually win, so to do so was just amazing, I was genuinely surprised! It was the cherry on top of an incredible placement experience,” says Amy.
“The last year has been a real journey and I’ve developed over the course of the placement, my confidence in my ability has really grown. I’ve also met and worked with some great people and grown my network.
“I’m also really grateful for all of the support I’ve had from everyone in the catering department, they’ve really made me feel part of the team and have given the creative freedom in my tasks.”
Rising to the challenge
Amy joined the Catering Services team in July 2021 and was challenged with rebranding five different catering outlets, including designing content for online, offline, and digital marketing across the campus.
Adopting a systematic and strategic approach to tackling this huge challenge, Amy used her skills to develop informed and innovative designs and point of sale material, which balanced both the heritage of the different catering locations and the needs of the target markets.
Amy then turned her attention to developing the social media profile for the University’s Catering Services. Her innovative approach created exciting and engaging content, which saw engagement levels grow significantly.
As part of the University’s Fairtrade Working Group Amy has also worked closely with stakeholders in procurement, the Students’ Union, and the sustainability and catering teams to market their Fairtrade status.
Amy will now go into the final year of her studies, taking with her the valuable experience gained during her placement year.
Catering Operations Manager, Sarah Hodgson commented: “This award is well deserved and is recognition of all Amy’s hard work during her placement year with us. She has been a fantastic asset to the catering team and has developed our marketing and social media presence significantly.”
Thinking outside the box
The 2022 awards ceremony was held at the first in-person TUCO Summer Conference since 2019. The theme this year was ‘Breaking the Mould’ and encouraged members to ‘think outside the box’ when it comes to addressing the challenges of in-house university catering.
Placements are a valuable part of the courses at the University of Huddersfield, providing the opportunity to gain real industry experience. As one of the UK’s leading universities when it comes to integrating work placements into its courses, it recognises the value placed on real-world experience by employers.
{{item.title}} - News Story