Candidate Profile

Tell students about yourself

Hello! I’m a third-year classics student set to graduate this July. Throughout my time at Durham I’ve been involved with the History society, including as their ball chair for this year’s ball in collaboration with the English society, and I’ve been working at the SU and helping with events this past year. I’m also a semi-international student, I’ve spent the past 12 years of my life living in Luxembourg.

If elected, what sort of Officer can students expect you be?

I believe it’s really important to adopt a student-driven approach to the decisions that are made and the solutions we enact, and I intend to incorporate that into my role as an officer. An officer’s role is to represent the student body, which is why I think it is crucial for changes to be firmly rooted in real, lived student experience and have authentic student life at their centre, in all its challenges and joys. Focus groups and student surveys are an integral resource, for example. I think it’s so important for a community officer to be properly in touch with the community they represent, and I hope to get to know each facet of our student community.

Why is this role important to you?

Across the UK, less than 40% of university students who are diagnosed with autism complete their university education, meaning they are 10 times more likely to drop out than other students. University can be hard for everyone, but for neurodivergent or disabled students, it can be even harder to get involved in student and academic life. Nobody should have to go through their university experience feeling lonely or excluded. I would love for welfare officers from societies and colleges to have the knowledge, training, and resources they need to properly support students needing assistance or reassurance. Also, to create a system that allows people to see how physically or sensorily demanding society activities are, to allow students to try new things and go into them prepared.

As well as this, I want to help the SU keep supporting students through the cost of living crisis by continuing current initiatives like the student pantry.

What is your pitch to students?

As community officer my priority would be expanding upon the existing support structures to ensure that they are built for all students. I hope to create a student community that has accessibility and inclusion at its heart, not just in its peripheral vision, because student life is for everyone!