Life on the Activities Exec — Emma

Leeds University Union Blog · 8 months ago · 33 views

Life on the Activities Exec — EmmaWith nominations now open for our next Activities Exec team, we spoke to four of our current Reps to find out more about life on the Activities Exec, the skills they’ve learnt, and what they wish they knew before they joined.Want to know more about the role and how to apply? Visit our page for all the details. And remember, nominations must be in by Wednesday 26 May.Emma — Music & Performance RepWhat’s been your favourite moment from your year as an Activities Exec?Chatting at the Rep meetings, to be honest! Feels like we are just a big team who have the opportunity to do some good in LUU, and being taken so seriously, we are allowed to let our guard down without worrying it will jeopardise our voices being heard.What advice would you give for people who are running for election this year?It’s such a unique position to be taken so seriously by LUU, when elsewhere it can feel like you’re just shouting into a void, this position holds some real gravity. Really take some time to canvas a variety of societies, hear what they want, and show them you’re gonna make it happen.What skills have you learnt this year?Definitely public speaking and how to host formal meetings. I knew I was a confident speaker before, but I was way more nervous for our early EGMs than I thought I would be. This position has helped me develop how to be taken seriously when leading a group, but not become unapproachable along the way.What do you wish you’d known before you started?How the Union works, democratically speaking. If I’d come in armed with a better understanding of how to make change early on, I think I would have been able to get more done.In your own words, what does being an Activities Exec involve doing every week?For me, this year, it has been primarily communications. My role is usually keeping an eye out for information actually relevant to my societies and posting it on our Facebook group, canvassing for opinions on potential opportunities, making sure student queries get addressed by the right people promptly, and providing drop-in sessions for committees to come and get their grant applications checked over to avoid school boy errors. Otherwise, we meet for a couple hours every week to discuss anything from grant allocations (it’s so much fun to give societies money, and there is so much money to give!), to potential disciplinary actions, to workshoppinLife on the Activities Exec — Emma was originally published in Leeds University Union on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Life on the Activities Exec — Emma

With nominations now open for our next Activities Exec team, we spoke to four of our current Reps to find out more about life on the Activities Exec, the skills they’ve learnt, and what they wish they knew before they joined.

Want to know more about the role and how to apply? Visit our page for all the details. And remember, nominations must be in by Wednesday 26 May.

Emma — Music & Performance Rep

What’s been your favourite moment from your year as an Activities Exec?

Chatting at the Rep meetings, to be honest! Feels like we are just a big team who have the opportunity to do some good in LUU, and being taken so seriously, we are allowed to let our guard down without worrying it will jeopardise our voices being heard.

What advice would you give for people who are running for election this year?

It’s such a unique position to be taken so seriously by LUU, when elsewhere it can feel like you’re just shouting into a void, this position holds some real gravity. Really take some time to canvas a variety of societies, hear what they want, and show them you’re gonna make it happen.

What skills have you learnt this year?

Definitely public speaking and how to host formal meetings. I knew I was a confident speaker before, but I was way more nervous for our early EGMs than I thought I would be. This position has helped me develop how to be taken seriously when leading a group, but not become unapproachable along the way.

What do you wish you’d known before you started?

How the Union works, democratically speaking. If I’d come in armed with a better understanding of how to make change early on, I think I would have been able to get more done.

In your own words, what does being an Activities Exec involve doing every week?

For me, this year, it has been primarily communications. My role is usually keeping an eye out for information actually relevant to my societies and posting it on our Facebook group, canvassing for opinions on potential opportunities, making sure student queries get addressed by the right people promptly, and providing drop-in sessions for committees to come and get their grant applications checked over to avoid school boy errors. Otherwise, we meet for a couple hours every week to discuss anything from grant allocations (it’s so much fun to give societies money, and there is so much money to give!), to potential disciplinary actions, to workshoppin

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Life on the Activities Exec — Emma was originally published in Leeds University Union on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.