Day in the Life of VP Wellbeing & Diversity

How I start my day

I usually wake up around 7:30. I try to start my day with 5-10 minutes of meditation and a glass of water as it sets you up for a positive and productive day. However, I do not always do this as we all have days where we wake up late.  

I then get ready for the day and head to work! It's about a 15-minute walk for me so I usually listen to some music or a podcast on the way.   

When I get to the office

When I first get into the office, I say good morning to everyone and then get settled at my desk. On a Monday or Friday, I like to plan out my week and assign different tasks to different days so I will have a look at the to-do list I have made for myself that day and double check there aren't any last-minute important tasks I have forgotten about. 

The next thing I do is check my calendar for the day to see what meetings I have on and then I get to checking my emails and starting the tasks on my to-do list.  

The rest of a typical day

I spend most of my days replying to student and staff emails, campaign planning, working on solutions to relevant student issues and attending various meetings to represent student voice. However, no two days are the same in this job.  

On Mondays, we always have an Officer Group meeting where we meet with some managers at the SU to discuss our manifestos, upcoming events/initiatives, relevant student issues and cross-collaboration with teams within the SU. It's essential that everyone is kept in the loop to ensure we're all working towards common goals.  

I also support the Community Officers in completing their manifestos and making positive changes for students through Campaign 121 sessions and support.

Meetings I attend

I attend a lot of (internal) SU meetings and (external) University meetings. A lot of the meetings I attend are on equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) or student wellbeing focused. For example, I attend the Race Equality Working Group to meet with the University EDI Department and the School EDI Deans to discuss how to make the University/campus more inclusive.   

I also chair the Wellbeing, Community & Diversity (WCD) Executive which focuses on wellbeing, equity and diversity, inclusion, and community at Royal Holloway. This means I am responsible for facilitating and guiding the discussions throughout the meeting and ensuring everyone present feels comfortable, encouraging active participation from all executive members.    

There are some more examples of some of the meetings I attend in the example day in the life section of this blog.   

Who I work with on a day-to-day basis

On a day-to-day basis, I work closest with the other Sabbatical Officers Hannah (SU President), Sharanya (VP Education) and Alastair (VP Societies & Sport).

However, I also work quite closely with other teams within the SU such as Student Voice, Advice Centre, and Marketing.   

I also have frequent communication with the University's Wellbeing team, EDI Department and the University Senior Management Team.   

How I end my working day

At the end of the day, I like to wrap up any last-minute tasks and review my to-do list again. Usually, everything will be done but sometimes if I have a particularly busy day a few tasks slip through into the next day, although I try not to make this a habit.   

I then go over my to-do list for the next day and add any tasks I didn't get done to it, so I know what I'm working on the next day. I will also double-check my calendar for the next day to see what meetings I have and to ensure I am prepared and have read any papers that I might need for that meeting.

Example day of my life

7:30 - 8:45 – Get ready for work

8:45 - 9:00 – Walk to work

9:00 - 10:00 – Check to-do lists, emails and get any important tasks done

10:00 - 12:00 – Joint Executive Committee (JEC) – in this meeting, the Sabbatical Officers and the Senior Leadership Team from the SU meet with the Senior Leadership Team from the University to discuss relevant student issues

12:00 - 12:30 – Emails and small tasks  

12:30 - 13:00 – Lunch (Usually an SU shop meal deal because I am not organised enough to bring in my lunch) 

13:00 – 14:00 – Event or campaign planning (e.g. Women’s History Month planning)   

14:00 - 15:00 - Wellbeing & SU (Advice) Catch Up – in this meeting, we catch up with the heads of the different Wellbeing Departments so that we can discuss ongoing initiatives, upcoming events, and any pressing concerns related to wellbeing on campus

15:00 – 16:00 – Community Officer Campaign 121 session

16:00 – 16:30 – Emails, last-minute tasks, check to-do lists and calendar  

16:30 – 16:45 – Walk home!

My favourite part about being an officer

One of my favourite aspects of the job is engaging with students on campus. It gives me the chance to connect with students and raise awareness about the resources available to them. It also allows students the opportunity to give feedback about any issues they are facing so we at the SU can work to solve these issues.  

The hardest thing about being an officer

I think the hardest part about being an officer is switching off from work. As an officer you will most likely still have friends who are students and if you also live in Egham like I do then you are around the University environment constantly so it can be quite hard to stop thinking and talking about work.  

My advice if you're thinking about running for VP Wellbeing & Diversity

My advice is if you are thinking about it, you should just do it, give it a go because what is the worst that could happen?   

Each day in this role will be unique and filled with opportunities to create positive change and enhance the student experience. It's a demanding role, but the satisfaction of making a meaningful impact makes it all worthwhile!   

Nominate yourself