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Advice about nominating yourself from Tilda Fraser, former Sabbatical Officer

Written by: UPSU

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Thinking of putting yourself forward in the 2024 Student Elections? 

Fromer VP Wellbeing and Diversity, and SU President, Tilda, shares her experience of being a Sabbatical Officer for two years and her advice for anyone who is thinking about running in the Student Elections... 

 


 

"Hi, I'm Tilda I studied Psychology and was part of the Faculty of Health, and I'm also an ex Students' Union President. During my Master's year, I decided to run for Vice President of Wellbeing and Diversity. And I won that year. So I became VP. And then I enjoyed being VP so much that the next year I ran to be Students' Union President. And I won that and had another amazing year working at the Students' Union. 

What initially interested me about running to be Vice President of Wellbeing and Diversity was that I really felt like the role complemented what I was doing on my course and the kind of things I was studying, as a Psychology student, and I think a lot of like Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology, and the policy work and the advocacy and campaigning that you do in the Vice President role really seemed like a good fit for what I was doing on my course. And my Personal Tutor encouraged me to get involved as well.

During my time as Vice President of Wellbeing and Diversity, I did a lot of mental health campaigning, I helped to rewrite and improve some policies around key things like sexual assault, and suicide. And I went to a lot of meetings representing students on issues such as funding for students with disabilities, and things like that.

And then in my time as Students' Union President, I was doing a lot more sort of big board meetings, running larger campaigns, working on like finance strategies in the Students' Union. And being President has really opened my eyes up to a whole different world, how large institutions like the University are run, and also how a large charity like the Students' Union is run. 

If you are thinking about nominating yourself for a role at the Students' Union, my advice would be to just do it. Even if you're not 100% sure, or even if you're worried you won't win. Because as much as winning is great, especially if you're passionate about what you do. Taking part in that campaign week and learning amazing skills - you know, talking eloquently about the things you care about and making amazing friends and building your confidence - these are skills that will last forever whether or not you win the role. And if you do win the role, it means you get to work for a year on something you're so passionate about, really grow your confidence in developing your skills. See, I'd really recommend it."

 


 

Please note: the nomination period closes on February 5th 2024.

 

Please ensure you nominate yourself before Monday 5th February 2024. We are unable to accept any late nominations. 

 


 

Come along to one of our 'thinking of running?' sessions!

 

If you are thinking about nominating yourself as a candidate in the 2024 Student Elections but would like to know some more information and ask any questions about the role of a Sabbatical Officer or the elections process, please come along to one of our 'thinking of running?' sessions!

 

See our 'thinking of running' session timetable here.

 


 

If you are unable to attend these sessions and would like to ask SU Voice a question about nominating yourself in the Student Elections, please get in touch!

Your Student Voice team are on hand to talk you through the Elections process if you have any questions about running as a candidate for the 2024 Student Elections, or if you just want to know more about how you can make your voice heard at the University of Plymouth.

Emailstudentvoice@su.plymouth.ac.uk

 


 

Visit the 2024 Student Elections webpage.

Find out more about the Student Elections, including key dates, Sabbatical Officer job descriptions, and the election process on the 2024 Student Elections webpage here.

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