ASRA Awards Winner Spotlight: Niamh Turner

By Jordan Meates • 24 June 2025

It was a pleasure to catch up with Niamh Turner, recipient of the Res Life Hero of the Year award at the ASRA Conference 2025. In our conversation, Niamh shared thoughtful reflections on Conference and what the award means to her on a personal level.

Niamh Turner

Residential Support & Events Manager

Niamh Turner

Residential Support & Events Manager

Queens University Belfast

Congratulations on winning an ASRA Award! Can you tell us a bit about your role and your organisation?

Thank you, I have worked in the ResLife Team for eight years, as a Residential Life Coordinator and now as Residential Support & Events Manager. My role is to ensure our residents have the best student experience; I want them to feel at home, find their community and know they are supported.

How did it feel to hear your name announced as a winner at the ASRA Awards 2025?

A complete shock!

What does winning an ASRA Award mean to you/the team?

 I'm incredibly grateful to receive the ASRA award for my work in Residential Life. Huge thanks to the rest of the ResLife (& wider Accommodation Team) for their help & support, I'm very lucky to work with fantastic & caring colleagues who want to our residents to have the best student experience. Most importantly thanks to our QUB Accommodation students, for teaching us about their world & for making our community what it is—this is as much theirs as it is mine!

How did your team, students or colleagues react to the news?

I have a wonderful team, who recognise and celebrate achievements – it has been lovely to share the work of our ResLife Team within the wider QUB community.

Has winning an ASRA Award changed your/your team’s confidence or motivation moving forward?

It has served as a reminder of the importance of our role in the student journey, we meet you on your first day as you arrive on campus; get to know you over the next number of years & then celebrate with you on graduation day. Our team encourages friendships, creates opportunities to learn new skills, promotes students to try new things, connects them to support & allows them to flourish as they become more independent.

Who would you like to thank or acknowledge as part of your success?

A massive thank you to whoever in accommodation nominated myself (still a mystery) and thank you to my colleagues for their support & encouragement.

What advice would you give to others looking to achieve similar success in their own institutions?

There is opportunity in connection, speak with students and listen to how the world operates from their perspective. Try to understand where they are in their student journey, hold the space for them and encourage them to engage in the student experience.

What were your key takeaways from Conference 2025?

I really enjoyed being at the conference this year, speaking with other colleagues in similar roles & learning about the ever advancing services from the vendors. A message that woven throughout the conference was that our diverse student population are to celebrated, empowered and supported : a reminder that there is transformative power in being seen and heard.  Leaving the conference I reflected upon how we create and shape our spaces where everyone can belong, feel valued, safe and supported. As true belonging can only happen if we create spaces where everyone is included.

What was your favourite part of Conference 2025?

A tough question, the workshops were great – lots of thought-provoking speakers with interesting ideas and suggestions and it is always good to network with colleagues and share ideas. That said, my favourite speaker was Sam Kingsley: who spoke with such passion and knowledge!

Our sincere thanks to Niamh for sharing her story with us — and congratulations once again on this richly deserved recognition!