Get to know Rachel
What made you want to be a Sabbatical Officer?
Coming from Hong Kong to UCL was a massive change in terms of my life, culture and identity. Lots of people can tell you what's wrong and what can be improved, but it's difficult to find solutions and ways of reaching out.
Students should be able to immediately access face-to-face support that makes them more comfortable in their UCL environment and empowers them with the knowledge and resources.
They should be able to access this without having to feel like it's an endless struggle against an inattentive, bureaucratic machine (because it's not!).
I want students to be able to put the Sabbatical Officer title to an actual face, and for students to put names to those faces. Personally I struggled throughout my academic years and felt hopeless against so many different aspects of my journey here.
What impact would you like to have as a Sabbatical Officer?
If I were to have one goal it would be that every student knows that the University and the Students' Union will be able to help them, instead of a very far off 'if', and are equipped with the knowledge to reach out effectively from the get-go.
What has been the best part of your UCL experience so far?
The best part of my UCL experience so far has been being able to meet such lovely, quick-witted people! As an international student you don't hear much about student reputations from different universities but the more people I meet, the more proud I am of the people that are here.
They are so kind and caring and I feel really represent a balance between hard work and fun!