You might have seen that the Leadership Elections are now live, meaning applications for my job are open! I’m assuming if you’re reading this you want the chance to lead our Students' Union, so I thought I’d paint a picture of what a day in the life of an SU President looks like!
Hi everyone! You might have seen that the Leadership Elections are now live, meaning applications for my job are open! I’m assuming if you’re reading this you want the chance to lead our Students' Union, so I thought I’d paint a picture of what a day in the life of an SU President looks like!
So, the working day starts at 9 and I usually have been to the gym and have had breakfast before I start. On a Monday and Friday morning I have Live Issues where senior leaders across the University and Students’ Union meet to discuss, you guessed it, any ‘Live Issues’ that may have emerged or are persisting and how we can mitigate them to decrease their impact on students and staff.
I then do a bit of an email check, I tend to get a lot of emails and churning through them take a significant amount of time and brain power, so I aim to get this sorted ASAP so I can carry on with the rest of my day.
As President you have several responsibilities, whether that’s leading on your manifesto aims / remit, your responsibilities as a trustee and chair of the board of trustees of the union, or sitting on numerous different committees training from academic board to university council, which is responsible for the overall strategic direction, financial sustainability, and governance at Royal Holloway. Everything you do has a really significant impact on students - you’ve got the be the loudest voice in the room so you can advocate and champion student rights.
I usually also try to get some movement on my manifesto - feel free to check the minutes of the Big Executive to see what I’ve been up to with regards to this. But at the time of writing, I’m deep in the midst of Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week, which sits in my wider HelpNotHarm campaign, aiming to help students navigate safer and smarter choices with drugs and alcohol. I’ve been working with the university and the Union to ensure we have a drug and alcohol policy that reflects an approach to reduce harm, and how we can best support any cases on campus and in our venues.
Student Safety is a massive priority for me now so my campaign work with NeverOk, HelpNotHarm and safer routes for students are my main areas of priority. However, if you are elected for a 2025/26 term, students will decide the priority 8 – 8 things that matter most for them that they want to see change for. It’s your responsibility to ensure that the university and the union are working towards these priorities, and doing right by students.
Heavy is the head that carries all this responsibility, but you have so much support in the staff team at RHSU, they’re here every step of the way and will help you make the Priority 8 become a reality.
That’s all from me but if you want to chat about the role further, email me at President@su.rhul.ac.uk and I’m happy to put in some time to talk it through!
Good luck! 😊