Asian Social Network Society: Social Secretary

Hi, I’m Connie, a first-year History undergraduate, and I’m running for Social Secretary for the Asian Social Network Society! The main reason why I want to run for leadership for the ASN Society is because I’ve really enjoyed attending the Society events this year. Coming from a Malaysian-Chinese background but having been raised in the UK, issues concerning identity have sometimes posed a challenge to me. However, having since attended several ASN Society events, I felt so much more comfortable embracing all aspects of my cultural identity, especially having connected with different people from all different backgrounds. 

I particularly want to run for Social Secretary, as it aligns with my past leadership experiences. As one of the heads of my sixth form leadership team, I worked with a large team of 18 to organise and execute over a week of school festivities for over 600 people in our school - this ranged from chalk drawing to a student-teacher dance battle We received extremely positive feedback and raised around £2000. This demonstrates my teamwork, organisation and project management skills. 

If I was elected as the Social Secretary, I would aim to maintain and continually ensure all Asian communities at UCL feel represented and respected, again through collaboration with other cultural societies. I also have a ton of ideas for new events, ranging from cultural showcases, like a fashion show to show off traditional cultural clothing, to food stalls to dance events.

I believe in what ASN stands for, and I appreciate what the current committee has done to make the society work. I am standing to reaffirm and deepen that strength, with a commitment to expand the repertoire of activities, and make small changes that will improve our society.

My favourite pastime is cooking, and over the past term, over a dozen people in my course have been willing to pay beyond cost-price for my food, and I am certain that I can use my culinary abilities to introduce new food-related activities, which can possibly include a themed low-stakes food tasting/competition social.

Additionally, as an avid karaoke and anime fan, I believe many of our society members relate to this desire for more collaboration with the Karaoke and Anime societies as well. It is a small change, but broadening the groups we work with is something which will allow us to get to know each other better and broaden the network's reach.

These 2 elements build on the idea that small changes can make a sizeable difference.

Unfortunately, one concern which I have is sometimes the lack of a clear timeframe of activities. It is something I wish to alleviate with a concrete monthly plan of activities which we used to do. Making this a prerequisite and not just a "do if you can" gesture would greatly improve participation and better allow us as a society to get to know each other better.

Therefore, let's build a better ASN together, because it's the small things that make the biggest difference.