From student to student voice, what this role really taught me

It was never my plan to run to be a students’ union officer.

It honestly wasn’t even something I’d thought about until I got to know the previous officer team. It was from them that I learnt about the role and the more I found out, the more I started thinking about whether I could do it too.

Naturally, the education officer role stood out – I felt like I could advocate for students and make a real difference.

Campaigning taught me that students did not have an equal student experience across schools. It seemed that depending on your course, background or school, your experience of university could feel completely different from that of your peers. Thus, I wanted fairness and equity.

And that became my focus when I was elected. I wanted a united and equal student experience, across academic, social and overall experiences.

Systems, structures and so many committees

I can’t lie, at first being an officer felt like a chilled office job.

It’s weird, it’s the quickest promotion you’ll get in a graduate job. From sitting exams, to having meetings with deans of your school and having casual conversations with their boss’ boss.

The first six months were spent fully understanding the role. There’s a lot to comprehend as an entry officer – meetings, getting to know SU staff, operations and budgets.

As an education officer, I also needed to understand the university’s education strategy.

For me it was quite important to understand policies, know which staff members to speak to and understand how the different systems and structures work. All of this makes a real difference in your campaign success.

One thing that helped massively was going to external conferences and maintaining good relationships with university staff. Meeting other officers going through the same process made it feel less overwhelming. You actually recognise it’s a unique opportunity to be an officer and understand the nuances in each union. This and you could also discuss the different Wonkhe articles.

The hardest bit early on was getting my head around the committees, working groups and meetings. There were just so many!

Just understanding the purpose of each one, and when and how to bring in student voice, took time. It felt like a game of listening and learning before speaking up.

However, sometimes you’ve got a great idea, and it just doesn’t move forward. I learned not to take that personally, I started to see it as a long game.

You have to figure out how to say things differently, how to explain from the student perspective and always come with evidence.

What kept me going was the campaigns and wanting to make a real tangible difference for students. A real highlight for me was achieving uncapped modules for summer referrals. This is an extremely huge win as it benefits students greatly, and was picked up in the weekly news on Wonkhe. This achievement reminded me why the role matters – to be a true voice of change.

What I learned

This role teaches you a bit of everything.

You work in a small officer team, with the wider SU staff, with university departments and even with external organisations. You’re constantly moving through different spaces, working with different kinds of people, and having to shift how you communicate depending on the room you’re in.

It’s definitely built me up professionally. I’ve learned how to see things from other perspectives, how to work in difficult spaces and how to stay focused when tensions rise.

Sometimes, when something goes wrong, you feel like the easy person to blame. I had to learn how to hold my ground, communicate clearly and not get caught up in the drama.

Personally, I’ve grown in confidence. I’m more comfortable with public speaking, with problem-solving and with taking initiative. There are so many transferable skills you pick up without even realising it.

One big thing this year taught me is patience. And it showed me a side of higher education I didn’t see as a student: there’s a business side to it. There’s internal politics, things don’t always move quickly and even when it feels like there’s been progress, it’s small.

But those small changes still matter and over time, they build into something bigger.

What needs more attention

If I could ask universities and sector leaders to focus on one thing, it would be international students. I think their experience is often misunderstood or ignored.

We need to do more than just welcome them at the start of the year. We need long-term support, clearer communication and more inclusive policies that actually reflect the challenges they face. It’s not enough to just celebrate diversity, we have to support and facilitate it properly.

Advice I’d give to new officers

Make the most of the role.

Don’t expect to change the world but don’t underestimate your impact either. Even when you don’t get a solid yes, your input is still valuable and sometimes just raising the issue starts a conversation that leads to change later on.

One thing that really helped me was taking the time to get to know university staff outside of meetings. Building real relationships makes everything easier. People are much more likely to help you, support your ideas, and guide you through the system when they know you as a person, not just as “an officer.”

So I’d say go in with an open mind, be teachable, and be willing to learn and adapt. You won’t always get it right but that’s part of the process. Learning to embrace the obstacles and the journey is part of it too.

This role has shown me how to work with people, how to lead with empathy, how to listen even when it’s uncomfortable, and how to keep going when things feel slow or frustrating.

No matter where I go next, those lessons are going to stay with me.

As I finish my term I’ll leave new officers with three questions worth coming back to: