Monday 24-08-2020 - 14:14

When I ran for President of CSU in March 2019, I had an idea of the types of tasks I might be doing. Things like running campaigns, speaking to students and doing lots of fun things; and whilst this is part of my job, the part I love the most, there was a whole other side that I was quickly thrown into. In my first week, I learnt that I would have to lead the recruitment for a CEO, negotiate with the Officer team to have the Student Union building refurbished and stop £90k being taken from our block grant, whilst planning for Fresher’s Week and beyond – recruiting a CEO at 21? Nailed it.

 

The things I just mentioned are ‘once in a blue moon’ situations that SU’s go through, but not all at the same time! The SU team really pulled together last summer to make the best of an uneasy time, but that’s not all the President does. As part of the role, I am a trustee and director of CSU, which means I, along with 10 other volunteers including three students, have legal responsibility for CSU, such as finances, strategy and ensuring the Union is operating the way it should, as laid out in the Charity Commission. The Trustee Board meets at least four times a year to discuss everything CSU! Being the President means I am also a Student Governor of the University, so I sit on the highest University Council. The role here is similar to the responsibilities of a trustee, but we hold the Vice-Chancellor and her Strategic Executive Team (SET) accountable for all University activity. I also send a report to the Council about six times a year to update them on all the wonderful things you have been up to.

 

As I don’t have a specific remit, such as VP Education and VP Activities, I work a lot with many different University departments on campaigns such as Wellbeing Week, or I work closely with the Alumni team on various different activities. I also meet regularly with the VC to talk all things students, and we meet as an Officer team with her too. I spend a lot of time on University committees, such as Planning and Resources Committee, Student Experience Committee, or Post-graduate sub-committee. I sit on about 13 in total, so that takes up quite a bit of time!

 

The strangest part of the job so far is navigating through a global pandemic! Liaising with the University about what students want and how we can get the best out of this situation for students is great, odd, but great. Working from home when the job is so student focused isn’t necessarily what I had in mind when I got re-elected, but we have made it work as best we can. After six months of not being in the office and not seeing students, I’m glad that we are slowly getting back. I’m now back in the Parkgate Road SU, and I’m excited for students to return in just 2-3 weeks’ time. It’s a strange time for us all, but students adapt, and we will make this year fantastic. That’s the thing about the University of Chester, we make it work, and we do it well!