Yazhini Poongundran

I admire what UCL Malayali Society does, create a sense of community among students and act as their ‘home away from home’.

My involvement with the society began during my first year of university, in which I have been an active participant in many events and served as a First Year Rep until date. During this tenure, I was delighted to be involved with successfully organising a society dinner in a timely manner that increased membership and encouraged participation from students across campus. My organisational skills were further tested as a core committee member of ‘Sutton Tamil Sangamam’ alongside my parents; I helped to coordinate and lead our annual 250+ capacity Pongal program by meeting with vendors for venue selection, being the lead host and managing budgets efficiently along with maintaining records ensuring smooth functioning — tasks which gave me a great sense of responsibility and required considerable planning and problem-solving abilities.