What do the Student Life and Guidance (SLG – formerly SLW) Team do? 

The SLG team can meet with you face-to-face and online if you are experiencing any issues you would like to discuss. The team may be able to assist you with your issue or can signpost you to other services if necessary.

Meet the Team

Student Support Officer – Matthew Hood (he/him)

Matthew’s role in the SLG team includes meeting with students and coordinating communications for the team. He has worked in Higher Education for 2 years and prior to this worked in Secondary Education as a science teacher. Matthew specialised not only in teaching science but also in student wellbeing support, specifically mental health support. Matthew’s education background is in applied environmental ecology and conservation and he maintains a strong passion for the natural world and a firm belief in its importance in supporting mental health and wellbeing.

What’s one fact about you from your uni days?

I am the reason that the ‘Single Ladies’ dance is banned in the teaching labs at CCCU. I maintain that my classmate who dangerously left the glassware on the edge of the bench is the one who should really be held responsible.

What’s one piece of advice you want to give to students?

Take care of yourself. If you burn yourself out trying to sprint through your work, it will feel twice as hard. Working at a manageable pace will save you in the long run.

If you were to go back and study again now, what subject would you choose?

I would have liked to combine my previous environmental science studies with psychology. I would have liked to investigate how protecting wild spaces improves the mental health of the communities around them.