Candidate Profile

Tell students about yourself

I am Stella Tran taking my first year in Psychological and Behavioural Science student and I am Vietnamese. I am working as a social secretary at Behavioural Insights Society. I am also a course representative. I participated in the innovation game changer twice this year. For this term, I am in the cohort of the Level up Sprint edition. I am taking the Stage 1 Chinese language course as I aim to study in China in the future.

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

My intention is to actively engage in inclusivity and to spread the international students’ voice as far as possible. To enhance inclusivity, I will talk to my international friends and listen for their concerns then I will reach out to the international societies’ presidents and ask for brief coffee/online chats, this way, I can have an overall view of what SU can do to elevate their activities thus providing appropriate offers to the societies. I will raise any concerns affecting international students to the SU offices so we can work together to find the best solutions and ensure every voice is heard.

Why is this role important to you?

Being an international student in a hugely different culture, I observe the social life in a different perspective. It is new, intimidating sometimes, fascinating and of course worth thriving. Yet, not every international students share the same view with mine, I have heard and seen them go through very distinct experiences and the most importantly, these stories are still being kept as no helps are shown. I believe that an engaging culture is not the culture where the minorities must speak up for themselves to seek for help, it is the environment that protect and make first-hand efforts to create inclusivity. Thereby, by being an international officer, I will construct more trusts for them to rely by not merely asking them for their experiences but to create more specific cultural campaigns, cross-culture events and festivals to share the beautiful traditions across Durham University culture.

What is your pitch to students?

I want to learn more about the unique English culture while having the chances to spread my culture. I aim to gather perspectives from international students and societies to make profound changes to their experiences in Durham.

My slogan is: inclusivity starts with us— proactive support for a stronger community.