European and International Social and Political Studies Society: Welfare Officer

I’m standing for Welfare Officer in the IESPS society because I care about creating a supportive and welcoming environment for everyone on the course. IESPS brings together people from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, and I think it’s important that we all feel comfortable, included, and able to reach out when things get tough. Whether it’s through wellbeing events, peer support, or just being someone people can talk to, I’d like to help make sure no one feels alone in what can sometimes be a challenging academic and social environment.

I love the vibrant and varied group that we are in EISPS - a multidisciplinary course has multitalented people! But with many hobbies and interests can come additional pressure.

My mission is to support our society in offering activities for everyone: networking events from various specialisms, collabs with other societies, but most importantly, the space to unwind from the intensity of uni life. 

Some ideas: cookies and guess the flag / country competitions, open essay writing sessions (common room) especially during deadline season, setting up a buddies / families between first and second years so everyone has someone to reach out to.

Having your vote would mean lots to me and I can’t wait to collab with the rest of our society!

As an EISPS Welfare Officer, I will ensure that new students find themselves welcomed in an otherwise unfamiliar environment. I am well practiced in this, having worked on two separate occasions in international language schools as an activity session leader. I have thus developed strong interpersonal skills. My roles included hosting team-building events, integrating new students into a rotating student body, and providing safeguarding support. Moreover, as an activity session leader I had to demonstrate leadership qualities which would be valuable in the role of a Welfare Officer. I independently led trips to a range of locations and organised sports activities alongside coworkers. Engaging students in a way which is both conducive to self-involvement and at the same time encourages them to work together to problem solve was critical for my previous role. As a Welfare Officer, I will ensure that new students can begin to settle into university in terms of their individual wellbeing, as well as their insertion into the UCL student community. Whilst I worked in the English Language Centre in Chester, I regularly faced challenging situations which required me to think on my feet and work as part of a team. As part of my responsibilities, I oversaw managing sensitive data such as passports and safeguarding incident data. As a result, it was critical that I present a compassionate and welcoming experience for the students in order that they might feel comfortable talking to me.