When I arrived at Birmingham as an undergraduate in 2015, I had no idea what the Guild was, but I knew the Officer Team were the coolest people on campus. This year has shattered both halves of that statement – Guild Officers are decidedly not cool (sorry team), and we certainly haven’t been on campus for most of the year. Both the Full and Part Time Officers have impressed me time and again with their enthusiasm and determination to make changes for the students they represent, and I’m grateful to have been part of this pandemic team.
I ran to be Postgraduate Officer because I loved the huge variety of people with passions for their discipline – mature, international, part time, distance learners and so many more. Postgraduate study at any stage of life is a significant personal investment, often balanced with other life priorities, and it’s been such a privilege to advocate for the diverse needs of postgraduates at Birmingham. I’m so lucky to have been both preceded and succeeded by two excellent women, Tobi and Danielle – we will each have brought our own perspectives to the role, but we’re united by a passion for the postgraduate community and a desire to develop it.
In my last few months as Postgraduate Officer, I’ve been focussing on how to strengthen the Guild’s offering to postgrads, and to give consistency and longevity to relationships and resources that benefit postgrads. The Graduate School is the most important part of this – I’ve worked with the new Dean of Postgraduates to establish a regular meeting between the Guild and Graduate School, meaning that we can work collaboratively and with shared resource to provide support and community for postgraduates between us. A key part of this new relationship structure is that the Guild – and particularly the Postgraduate Officer – can still hold critical conversations with Graduate School leadership to make the necessary improvements that postgraduates need. As we move into the next academic year, I’m hopeful that renewed connections and increased resources, as well as a return to some in-person activity, will improve opportunities for the postgraduate community even more.
There’s so much more I want to say in this post about the year I’ve had as an Officer, but the most important is THANK YOU. Thank you to the brilliant postgrads and undergrads I’ve worked with this year – particularly our Student Reps, who have been fantastic. Thank you to the permanent staff team at the Guild, who have developed me as a person, delivered exceptional activities and support for students, and made me laugh until I’ve cried – or until I’ve stopped crying. Thank you to the many University colleagues who have supported my work this year – almost without exception. You have heard and lifted up my voice in many contexts, and even where we were disagreeing, you treated my contributions as an equal. Finally, THANK YOU to every single Full and Part Time Officer this year – you have challenged me to be the best person and Officer I can be, in order to keep up with you all.