Leia Davies-Vale.

Candidate for School of Life Sciences & the Environment

Hi! My name’s Leia, I’m currently a second-year student studying BSc Zoology. I’m also currently the Volunteering Officer for the university’s CAVS society. My main goals as a School representative would be to:

• Increase the academic and well-being support available within each department, ensuring that it is available to everyone.
• Improve the levels of communication and student engagement throughout each department, and as a school.

It is not new news that students struggle with mental health issues; however, I believe that each department could do more in assisting students in getting the help that they want/need. At the moment a lot of the information we receive is through emails, which often get lost in the sea of other information we are provided with. Rather than communicating through and relying on emails, I hope to make a platform on which students can actively engage to be able to access assistance. I also aim to increase training and awareness of mental health issues, so that help is more readily available when students need it.

I feel as though there is a lot of confusion particularly surrounding exams and third year projects, especially with no safety-net in place. I also know that many students also worry about the format of exams for next year, with so many of us yet to have experience with “normal” exams. I hope to provide clarity on assessment formats in each module and in each department, whilst also trying to ensure that students believe they are being examined fairly. Whilst this doesn’t mean that I will be able to get rid of formal exams, I hope to help students understand their assessments, whilst being able to voice their concerns.

It’s important to recognise that, whilst some aspects of online learning have worked, others haven’t, and this will inevitably impact our degrees regardless of the changing situations. I strongly believe that the communication between each department and students needs to be improved drastically, and that one way to do this is by having someone that can express people’s feelings, something that I hope to do.

Overall, I just want to be a voice for students. These are your degrees, it is your money being spent, and it can be your future that is impacted. If I am elected, I promise to be someone who speaks for the students and ensures that everybody is heard.