International Relations Society: Welfare Officer

Through my experience leading a school Wellbeing Team and working as a certified mental health mentor, I’ve had the opportunity to organise over 50 wellbeing initiatives for more than 800 students, ranging from workshops on stress management to informal social spaces where students could connect and support each other.

Those experiences showed me how important it is for student communities to feel welcoming and supportive, particularly in environments where people come together around shared academic interests.

As Welfare Officer, I would aim to help maintain that kind of environment within the International Relations Society by organising relaxed social events such as informal discussion evenings, coffee meet-ups after talks, or small end-of-term socials where members can get to know each other beyond academic settings.

My goal would be to help ensure the society remains not only a place for engaging discussions on global affairs, but also a welcoming community where members feel comfortable participating, sharing their perspectives, and building connections with others who share similar interests.

I am running for Welfare Officer because I believe the IR Society should be not only intellectually engaging, but also accessible and supportive for members across a range of majors and interests. Having lived in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and now the UK, I understand how daunting unfamiliar academic and social environments can feel. My international upbringing has made me attuned to the importance of inclusion and clear communication in student spaces, especially in fast-paced societies like this one.

In addition, I have experience in student welfare roles as a peer mentor and tutor, supporting students who are balancing academics with additional challenges. As a member of the Service Council in high school, I oversaw the training and well-being of service officer teams, ensuring officers felt supported, balanced, and prepared to achieve their club’s goals for the term. I would bring these same skills to the role of Welfare Officer, committed to supporting both members and the committee so that everyone benefits fully from the society’s events.

I believe that to make our society more inclusive and supportive, it is important to create more collaborative, low-pressure social spaces, particularly in Term 1, where members can connect with one another and feel comfortable voicing concerns. If elected, I will prioritise making events more accessible so all members (regardless of background) can participate in this community.

(This is a back up bid for my main goal is serving you in this society as a committee member. I plan to continue the much beloved events that IR society takes pride in, like the visit to the Global Peace Summit (Bangkok) and the film festival which saw introductions by professors and guest speakers for the films. The particular strong points of these events, that of traveling as well as combining social and academic events as a means of deepening understanding of international relations and fostering intercultural awareness, are aspects which I seek to expand on in the next year.

My key proposals are the initiation of another trip, this time to the Athens Democracy Forum, to expand the repertoire of trips available to members; the continuation of the film festival with an expansion to more experts to offer additional insights to the films; and more panel and expert talk events. Of particular importance, and involving the most work, are the trip and the talk events. The talk events, with enough speakers, have the opportunity to be some of the most engaging and useful events for members who wish to engage deeper with certain issues and also see inside the black box of work and research in IR. The pool of possible speakers and therefore opportunities for insight and even perhaps networking remains wide and untapped. The same goes for events like the Athens Democracy Forum. All that is needed is the motivation to organise these events.

Hi Friends, 

I am Aleyna and I am your current welfare officer, which has given me great insights on what this role entails and how important it is. So, here is what I already implemented and what I am planning on adding: 

• Welfare Check-Ins 
  • I know a society can only be successful if the members are happy, at the end of the day we all pay for a membership. I implemented check-ins to ensure your satisfaction with the committee by sending check-in forms at least once every half term. I was and will be here to bridge the gap between the members and committee!
• Wellbeing Services Overview
  •  Navigating and accessing wellbeing services at UCL can be hard, so I created a document that gives the members an overview of the wellbeing services on-hand and makes it easy for everyone to get the support they need. 
• Personal Support 
  • I know being welfare officer entails more than just sending check-in forms in group chats every once in a while. That's why I was and will be available to all members to guide you to the right wellbeing services and give you the support you need, just contact me directly!  
• Exam Season Toolkit 
  • Exam season can be stressful, as welfare officer, I would prepare a tool-kit of suggestions on how to cope with stress and stay happy and healthy!
• Welfare Drop-In Sessions 
  • Sometimes it is best to put a face to the name, so I propose starting welfare drop-in sessions, in which members can come and can be directed to available wellbeing resources!