Students Shine at Elysian Awards Work Experience

Four of our talented students recently completed an exciting Work Experience (WEX) placement at a live awards event held at G Live in Guildford and hosted by Jo Brand, in partnership with Elysian.
The Elysian Awards are a prestigious, charitable event, celebrating community-focused individuals and organisations. The Student Futures Team at Godalming College were delighted to partner with Elysian and promote a number of valuable work experience opportunities to our students, to support at the awards event with photography, videography and event management. Following a competitive selection process, four of them were selected.

Alina, India, Rosie and Zenith all played a key role in planning and delivering the event, working alongside professionals to help bring everything together. They spent time at Elysian’s offices organising logistics such as goody bags, place settings and event materials, and then each took on responsibilities during the live awards evening itself.

Rosie reflected on how immersive the experience was: “We got to have specific roles so felt part of the process rather than just watching others… it helped me develop my interest in this field of work for the future.”

Zenith was involved in capturing and producing video content: “The planning beforehand and editing took around 2 weeks… I learnt so much about live events, problem solving and improved my videography skills.”

India highlighted the real responsibility she was given on the night: “I had the main role of interviewing the gold winner of the awards, so I had to learn to take responsibility… and ensure the individuals were comfortable with answering.”

Across the placement, students developed valuable industry skills, from event logistics and teamwork to videography, communication and customer service. India noted how the experience linked directly to her career ambitions: “I personally want to go into hospitality and tourism, so improving my customer service and social skills was extremely helpful.”

The feedback from Elysian was overwhelmingly positive. The organisation praised the students’ professionalism, enthusiasm and contribution to the success of the event, commenting that they would “happily have them back next year.”

We are incredibly proud of Rosie, Zenith, India and Alina for representing the College so well and paving the way for more opportunities in the future for Godalming College students. We are also very grateful to Elysian for their ongoing support. Industry partnerships are invaluable to providing meaningful, real-world learning opportunities for our students.