Manaal Tariq, International Officer
Manaal shares how she first got involved with the Students' Union, and how she is helping shape UCL's international community
My transition to London as an international student was quite hard
I first became involved with the SU as a Hall Representative, and it was quite a fun role to take up. It gave me a very good idea of the democratic structures at Students’ Union UCL, and I saw people in these types of roles advocate for their communities quite strongly at Policy Zones which motivated me to do the same.
I saw this role as a way to connect with people in similar situations and give them the support that, I knew first-hand, would help them. That’s when I thought of applying but to be honest, I did not think for one second that I would actually get elected!
It’s so important to have a global community on campus
Now that we finally have an International Network, I think we would be able to do so much more with it in the coming year. It’s quite rewarding especially with the International Festival, the events, conferences, and the opportunities we have to connect with people on the senior leadership team and with students and bridge that gap.
Being such a diverse student body, we need to have the opportunity for everyone to be a part of multiple communities at the same time. Cultural societies are so important for people to primarily connect with others from their background but we also need to offer every student a platform to be a part of a diverse group where they still feel included and comfortable.
International Festival was definitely a highlight of the year
I absolutely loved the theme and how so many of our student groups and societies found ways to get involved and organise wonderful events.
I think my favourite part was the Cultural Showcase we had at Wilkins. The performances had such different origins, yet they merged together so well. I had such a great time and I would definitely want to expand it more in the coming year!
Now that we have a network, we can do so much more
Our amazing Regional Representatives (must give them a shout) are so creative and have given me so many ideas of the events students want to see on campus including affordable campus balls, music festivals, and community connects.
On the advocacy side, I would like to conduct town halls open to all students to report issues so that I can take them forward as policies. I am also excited to expand the early mentorship programme for incoming students, work on campus accessibility, campus spirit, and have more opportunities for students to connect personally over welcome week (or even after, for those who are late in starting term!)