Adam Riglar

Year of Graduation: 2016 and 2018

  • Course BA Musical Theatre & PgDip Musical Theatre
  • School School of Performing Arts
  • Nationality British
  • Career industry Higher education
  • Current job title Hello Future area manager, Uni Connect Programme (Office for Students)
  • Current Company University of Cumbria

Every encounter you make, matters. Every lecture. Every opportunity. Every conversation. They all add up and are part of your experience.

This would definitely have to be show week! We would move out the productions from our ‘home from home’ which was room WH226 in the Performance Hub and move into the Arena Theatre. That is when things got real! The professional venue, professional staff and professional approach, lifted our work and production to the next level. I often think back to those Sunday ‘get-ins’ and wish I could go back. The excitement of bringing everything to life, the close ensemble feeling we all had, adding in the band and the venue team. The show runs themselves were great of course but I treasure the memories and experience of pre/post curtain up more. The conversations and contact with other areas of the theatre world were just as important and considered as such on the course.
Schedule management, resources management, communication, creative problem solving and resilience when things do not go quite to plan. Welcome to a performing arts course. But also, welcome to the world of work. My experience with my modules, my lecturers, my technical staff and my peers across the School of Performing Arts has directly impacted my attitude, skills and professional practice in my previous and current role. No doubt, I will continue to reflect on my experiences at WLV in my future roles.
Funded by the Office for Students, the Uni Connect Programme brings together 29 partnerships of universities, colleges and other local partners to deliver outreach programmes to young people in years 9-13 from target wards, from POLAR Q1-2. The work is focused within wards where higher education participation is lower than might be expected given GCSE attainment of the young people who live in that area. The programme also works with teachers, advisors, parents, cares and community leaders/volunteers to upskill and support young people’s wider support networks. My role as area manager, is to work as part of the partnerships central management team, overseeing the Carlisle and Eden area; line-managing the area team and ensuring the programme is successfully delivered within target schools, colleges and community environments. As a member of the management team, I also oversee a number of strategic areas of work.
During my time as Head of Communications & Events at Wolverhampton Students’ Union, there was no better moment than standing in the middle of the city campus courtyard during a Fresher’s Fair – the sounds of the Bhangra Society, the smells of Domino’s pizza and the hum of thousands of staff and students bringing life and atmosphere to kick start the academic year. Those are memories I will never forget – and miss yearly!
My WLV journey started on my first visit to the Walsall Campus. I stepped foot into the Performance Hub and my instant gut feeling was, 'Yes.' I knew this was right for me. My advice is to, as much as possible, experience what the University has to offer. Meet the staff – not just the academics – but the residential life teams, Students’ Union, Julie in the refectory, Sue from campus ops! They are the people that make WLV home. I lived in the Students’ Village for three years. My course was only a slice of the pie. Get involved in the wider campus life where you can.