Game Development Society: Welfare Officer

Hi! My name is Farah, I’m a first year Arts and Sciences student studying Computer Science and Visual Art and I would love to be your Welfare Officer. I am passionate about creating inclusive spaces and ensuring Game Dev is an accessible, supportive and fun experience for everyone. I've had a really great time in the society this year, and I'd love the opportunity to give back and help build this welcoming community.

I have experience working as a programming mentor for my high school where I supported students with coursework, guided individual projects, and helped create a positive and encouraging learning space. I am also familiar with the range of support tools and welfare resources available to students at UCL through my volunteer work with Project Impactive, where I conducted research on UCL’s "Student Triage and Referral Tool" and the importance of making support approachable and easy to access.

As Welfare Officer I would like to help organise more regular socials and casual check-ins where members can share development progress and any concerns in a relaxed environment. I would also like to explore creating an open-contribution Game Dev magazine or newsletter where members can share advice, questions, game recommendations, industry news, and events happening around London. 

I hope to contribute more to Game Development Society by representing your wellbeing needs and helping maintain a friendly, creative, and supportive environment in the society. 

I'm a good mascot character for social media. I am well-versed in all five elements for the arcane arts. I am empathetic, patient, and good at teaching people. I will make sure people in this big beautiful game development society feel comfortable and engage actively, ensuring nobody is left behind.

I have experience with working with students and teaching, working part-time for UCL's Ants, Swarms and Robotics programme, I taught kids in secondary school programming and theory to a surprisingly advanced level, such as on PID Control, DFS/BFS, and Path finding, making learning resources and teaching in person lessons.

I also work well with teams, and learn and adapt to newer situations. I am able to rely on others, as I have done with my colleague and friend Pratik, who has helped me in many public speaking situations, especially as I was new to teaching in such a setting, when conveying lesson concepts to the kids. I am patient and re-explain more confusing concepts in a more digestible way and enthuse excitement with the more interactive and Socratic way I teach, so that the kids are also excited about the topics I teach. I bring forth an environment where questions can be asked without judgement or anxiety, and the kids are getting more confident in both answering and asking questions when they feel confused.

I hope to bring this and much more and deeper support to the good people of the game development society.