Muay Thai Club: Welfare Officer

Hey everyone! I’m Malissa, and I’m running to be your Welfare Officer.

Honestly, Muay Thai has been such a big part of my time at UCL. When I first joined, I was quite shy, but this society made me feel so welcome and included through pad work, socials, or just random chats after training. It helped me grow in confidence and come out of my shell… to the point where I even did a few fights just four months after starting. That’s why I’m applying for this role to give back to the society.

I try to talk to everyone at training, especially new members, because I know how intimidating it can feel walking in for the first time. I’ve also been a Welfare Officer for another UCL society this past year, so I understand the responsibility of being someone people can trust and come to.

If elected, I want to make sure everyone feels comfortable, supported, and not afraid to get involved — whether that’s through checking in with people, organising fun fundraising events, or hiding from deadlines together.

Basically, I want to be someone you can come to for a chat, a laugh, or just a reminder that you’re doing great.

Thank you, and I’d really appreciate your vote :)

As Welfare Officer, I'd want to be a point of support for both new and long term members, making sure everyone feels heard and that any concerns or ideas are taken seriously. I think I'd  suit this role as I am a good listener, easy to talk to, and super passionate about the club.

A lot of new members I’ve spoken to seem quite nervous to come to sessions, and I think addressing this will be one of my main focuses. I have first-hand experience of what it's like to join with no prior experience in combat sports, with some bad experiences in other sports societies in the past. Not knowing what to expect, what the sessions would look like, or what kind of people would be there are factors that I think play into anxiety around joining.

Some ways I want to address this are making sure people know what to expect before they even walk through the door (i.e. examples of the structure of sessions on instagram), being a visible point of contact for any questions or concerns, and pushing for an environment where everyone feels welcome regardless of experience or background (i.e. more diverse socials). The club already has such a great culture and I want to help make that even more visible to people who are considering joining or just getting started.

Muay Thai has an amazing community, and given me so much confidence and a re-found passion for sport. I’d love for other people to have that same experience, and becoming Welfare Officer feels like a great way to give back to this society 😁.

I'm Tianjing but call me TJ because no one can pronounce my name. 

The reason I am the goated choice for Welfare Officer is because 

• I have done the entire cycle of cutting weight and training every day for UCLMT UFN while having a treacherous relationship with food. So I KNOW how it feels to deprive yourself of all joy
• I do Sports Medicine and understand how beneficial taking part in UCLMT training sessions or socials has on your wellbeing and overall health, but I also understand some of the common struggles upon coming up to fight season and exam stress
• I am very open to talking about anything and having been to basically EVERY SINGLE SESSION, so you might recognise me as a familiar face :) I promise I am really approachable and non-judgemental, I just have a resting hangry face
• I am my course rep, divisional rep and also Changemakers project lead for my course, which gave me experience in listening and making a change to what the people really want and making sure everyone feels welcome and heard

In essence: you come first before Muay Thai or anything else. UCLMT already is a tight knit, supportive community and I just want to help it stay that way for the future. 

But first vote for TJ.