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Rich Green, Faculty Wellbeing Consultant for Social Sciences, in the Division for the Student Experience, tells us about the impact his role has on staff and students at the University – and those who inspired him to follow a career path helping young people.

Like most sport-mad young people, I had grand designs of being the one to score a dramatic last-minute winner for Southampton in a rare but spectacular Cup Final against local rivals Portsmouth. Quickly, I realised that starting for my beloved Saints would be beyond me and, ever since volunteering to cover the tuck shop at my local youth club aged 13, I have been drawn to roles helping young people. It’s a career path I absolutely love. My parents worked as a health visitor and a police officer, so I credit them with showing me the value in working to help others.

I am the Wellbeing Consultant for the Faculty of Social Sciences. It's a fancy title for being 'the one who makes sure staff and students know how and where to access wellbeing support when they need it'. It is mainly staff-facing, and my favourite part of the role is delivering training sessions to staff members, ensuring they feel confident in noticing when students need a bit of extra support and feel confident to have sensitive, sometimes upsetting, conversations with them.

Wellbeing challenges are not a new thing for students, and yet young Gen Zs  are all-too-often labelled as less resilient than previous generations. According to the Office for Students, however, in 2021-22 only 4.5% of full-time students and 5.3% of part-time students reported a mental health condition to their university. At Sussex, we know that a lot more students than this reach out for mental wellbeing support ─ and even then, there are still some students who don't know the amount of support available to them here. This is where my role comes in. By equipping Faculty staff with the knowledge and skills to notice when students may be struggling, we can help students find the right support for them as quickly as possible and reduce the impact of poor mental wellbeing on their studies and wider lives.

Sussex has a real community feel and I like the ease with which people get to know each other here ─ even if it’s just recognising familiar faces you never meet properly whilst walking across campus. My favourite place is sitting by the pond near Arts Cafe. It can be a serene spot to have a break during a busy day (and it’s a sun trap too). You need to be very careful of the seagulls if you're carrying baked goods, but on a nice day there's no better spot for watching the bustle of campus make its way through Library Square. Please don't all flock there though, or I'll have to find somewhere else!

My youth club leader in my early teens was an incredible inspiration to me in my formative years. He regularly trusted me, early on, with tasks enabling me to contribute to the impact the club had on others. His approach to instilling confidence in me personally, and all those around him, is something I try to replicate in my life as an adult. He always had an encouraging outlook even during the bleakest of situations, which has really stuck with me over the years. A regular catchphrase he used when problem solving is something I often repeat to myself when things don't seem to be going my way: "If that doesn't work, we'll just try something else."

Wellbeing support, including guidance on how to get help if you need it, is available on our website for staff and students.

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