Did you enjoy being a Sabbatical officer?
Yes

What experience can you take from being in office?
Being a sabbatical officers enables you to develop a number of skills that a regular graduate wouldn’t necessarily achieve. Your communication skills will improve, you will learn how to read financial accounts, think strategically, lead a team of officers and work with the relevant staff to reach the best outcomes.

What would you do differently as a Sabb if you could go back and change anything?
I’d have taken all the training I could get and asked more questions. The staff really are quite good.

What was your most memorable moment being a Sabb?
It sounds odd to say but my whole term in office was my most memorable moment because your time goes by so quickly and a year feels like a month. Campaigning for the future of Exmouth Campus, achieving grade II listed status of the Exmouth SU Building, and working closely with the staff team are all great memories.
  

Do you think you need to know a lot about the UPSU before being Sabbatical Officer?
No. I knew very little coming from a smaller campus.

What qualities would be good for someone looking to do your role?
A commitment to equality & diversity is a must, a passion for making a change for the good of students at UPSU, good oral communication skills (although being a sabbatical officer made me a lot better at this).

What do you miss about being a sabbatical officer?
Now that I’m a member of staff in another Students’ Union, I don’t miss being a sabbatical officer but I do miss the staff team and being able to make the important decisions that make life better for students.
  

Do you think being a sabbatical officer has benefited you to further your career?
If I hadn’t been a sabbatical officer I wouldn’t be doing the job I’m doing now. Nearly 4 years later and I’m looking at management roles in students’ unions.

What do you hope you have been remembered for as your time as a Sabb?
I was a campus President at Exmouth, so I’d hope those students and staff would remember me for the work I did to try and protect the future of the campus for educational purposes following it’s closure and relocation to the Rolle Building in Plymouth. I also would like to think that I made the final year for the students at Exmouth as fun as possible with plenty of opportunities to engage and providing the most successful end of year ball ever seen on that campus.

Would you recommend being a sabbatical officer to a friend?Yes