Royal Holloway-Be More & Do More!

From RH100 Panel to volunteering in the local community, Royal Holloway offers a huge variety of opportunities to grow people’s skills and contribute to improving the university expereince of everyone. In this insider analysis, I outline what roles exist, pros & cons, and why you should get your hands dirty. Read on to become inspired!

RH100 Panellist

RH100 Panel is a paid focus group made up of 100 students who discuss strategies and ideas aimed at improving the university experience. The panel is incredibly diverse to represent the diversity present at Royal Holloway, and it usually meets 3 times within an academic year.

Pros:

• Small time commitment (usually 3 panels, each lasting 2–3 hours)
• Paid (extra money is always welcome for any student)
• Great networking/socialising opportunity (there are so many different people, it is really easy to find someone you click with)
• Public Speaking skills (great way to get out of your comfort zone)
• Allows students to be part of real, positive change at the university! (the panel is transparent about what it achieves publishing clear, regular reports)

Cons:

• Nothing! The panel is a friendly place run by an amazing team that is incredibly accommodating and approachable

My Experience: I have been on the RH100 Panel since 2018-Present, loving every moment of it! My aims were to meet new people and input into improving life on campus, which I succeeded in doing through discussing my views on the college strategy and topics such as improving the sports facilities and degree course expansion. I am an avid public speaker so to have an opportunity to voice and discuss my views was really fulfilling. I made new friendships, and many memorable moments. By joining the panel you have so much to gain and nothing to lose ;)

Peer Guide / Caller / Coordinator

The Peer Guidance Scheme is a multi-layered system that seeks to help new undergraduates coming to Royal Holloway to settle in more easily. Prior to arrival, Peer Guide Callers are responsible for making calls to prospective undergraduates and resolving queries, while Peer Guide Coordinator’s manage the administrative running of the scheme (assigning Peer Guides to a group of undergraduates) and being a point of contact in resolving further queries. Both these roles are paid, while the Peer Guide role is voluntary and aimed at acting as a mentor to new students in their first term of university.

Pros:

• Both Caller and Coordinator roles are paid (extra money is helpful)
• Coordinator role is a leadership opportunity (offering real-world leadership skills)
• Peer Guide role offers an opportunity to build mentoring skills (highly transferable)

Cons:

• The admin aspects of the Coordinator role can be boring and mundane
• Peer Guide’s can become overwhelmed with the number of questions being asked initially, which may be complicated and difficult to handle (health or financial problems in particular)
• The Caller role can be repetitive or upsetting due to listening to difficulties felt by others that are tough to resolve (ultimately, in some instances such as finances, there is little that can be done)

My Experinence: I was a Peer Guide / Caller in my second-year and found it to be an interesting experience. The Peer Guidance Scheme is always on the lookout for improvements that can be made hence why the Caller and Coordinator role were created recently. I found the Caller role to be really enjoyable, with opportunities to take breaks in between calls, being able to learn about helpful services on the job, and resolving high level issues faced by prospective students. The Peer Guide role was also interesting, although not as fun. I think it depends on the activity level of the group that is assigned to you by the Coordinator, which I became in my third-year when it had been created. It was really helpful in improving my own Microsoft Software skills, which I find to be invaluable as it meant I could complete mundane admin tasks faster. Generally, all these roles are fulfilling and allow you to work within a framework that aims to help others so choose what fits with your life and go with that.

Society Committee (President)

Societies play a pivotal role within the university, particularly in positively contributing to the social life on campus. Committees coordinate events, managing finances, meetings, health & safety and more. Standard committee roles include a President (leader who sets the vision of the society), a Treasurer (manages the finances), and a Secretary (looks after all the communication channels). Beyond these roles there can be others, but ultimately, they work to the same effect of running a society.

Pros:

• Great way to make new friends (boost your social life)
• You make a permanent mark on Royal Holloway, going down in its history!
• Meaningful and creative (doing something that creates a lot of happiness in other’s lives, which can be anything you choose to do)
• Gain variety of skills (leadership, data analysis, communication, negotiation and more)

Cons:

• Difficult dealing with disagreements that may come about between other societies or the SU
• It can be frustrating waiting for finances to be made available by the SU (takes several weeks)

My Experience: When I came to Royal Holloway, I saw the societies available and I was not satisfied so I founded Pokemon Society, getting 20 signatures, creating a fresh constitution, and finding a Treasurer (Krish) and Secretary (Beth) who were equally as in-love with Pokemon as I was! Since that time, the committee has changed, and I will be leaving my role as President of PokeSoc this June (2021) after 2.5 years in the role. I could not be prouder and happier with what the society has accomplished, with recognition from the SU via our 2020 Commendation Award. We build something out of nothing, creating a haven for those equally unsatisfied with other societies, hosting a variety of events from Murder Mysteries to Treks to the Pokemon Centre (and more!), and created a fresh Discord Server to use during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The community that has been build will leave a lasting example on this university, in illustrating the importance of 21st century values of non-intensity and chillness, which we all need in a high stress environment that is academic life at university. I leave this society with a legacy, one of openness to new experiences that anyone can have if they choose to get involved.

Volunteering Leadership

Leadership in volunteering encompasses two things, promotion of volunteering activities and management of a specific social action project. Both these things are equally integral to shaping volunteering at Royal Holloway. Student volunteer leaders can either run the administrative functions of a project or the more hands-on aspects (like the activity itself). While the promotion aspect to the role is simply working with the wider volunteering team to raise awareness and encourage more students to volunteer.

Pros:

• Give back to the community (you get to see how your actions directly impact others, which is really fulfilling)
• Formal Accreditation (as part of the role you do Continued Professional Development Training, which is highly respectable)
• Great opportunity to make new friends (great diversity amongst those involved)
• Grow your own humility and empathy (a great way to help yourself be a better human)

Cons:

• Not paid (this role will not help you financially)
• Resource limitations (sometimes it seems that because there are so many different projects, resources are to sparsely spread)
• Difficulty recruiting (sometimes there may be lots of volunteers, other times there may be none, and this can be difficult to foresee)

My Experience: I became a volunteer Team Leader of the Foodbank Project in my second year after having previously been part of the Response Team the previous year, where I got to do a variety of volunteering activities. I found the promotion side of the role fit my personality better as I really enjoyed having conversations with people and advocating for further volunteering. In contrast, running a social action project such as Foodbank was really challenging as it was difficult to find time to attend the foodbank itself as this usually clashed with lectures and recruiting volunteers was made harder by this as students felt uncomfortable going to a place without supervision. Ultimately, it was a good experience in seeing how volunteering operates at Royal Holloway and I appreciate it for giving me a chance to promote its importance, although I do think that I would have suited a different project better, which is something worth considering when becoming a volunteer leader.

NUS Delegate

There is little known amongst the student community about what an NUS Delegate does, let alone who the NUS are, which paints the picture of how irrelevant these things seem. The National Union of Students (NUS) is supposed to be the national body that represents students and raises our concerns to the government, but such a role seems redundant considering that the government only seem to listen to themselves. The NUS Delegates are responsible for representing students of their respective university, voicing such concerns and discussing & voting on proposals, which dictate the future directions of the NUS.

Pros:

• Raise important issues (these could become part of the national agenda)
• Better understand the background workings of the SU (working with the Sabbs)
• Network with other highly involved individuals (another great way to make connections)

Cons:

• Lots of limitations, including time and resources (the NUS organisational structure is not fit for purpose)
• ‘Not all NUS Delegates are made equal’ (not everyone at the NUS is actually well informed and this leads to time being wasted disagreeing over trivial matters)
• Little is achieved overall (the NUS campaigns are largely unsuccessful, and it seems that faster, more meaningful change can be achieved on a university level rather than nationally)

My Expereince: I ran to be an NUS Delegate in 2020, thinking the role would make changes to flaws within the university system (high union shop & laundrette costs) but I was unsuccessful. I tried again the following year, offering to do more with a comedic video campaign, and I won. It was refreshing to be elected as I was committed to being a hurricane in the NUS, however; I soon found numerous obstacles in my way of change. Firstly, the NUS is totally detached from students (barely anyone knows or cares about what they do). Beyond this, the NUS Delegates have little to no real power! Our role is merely to attend a tiny conference, which is incredibly inefficient in its time use and vote on very impractical (airy-fairy) policies, that don’t achieve all that much. This is down to the organisational failure of the NUS to be more accountable and transparent, failing to give Delegates more official powers to have a role over the year, raising awareness and building a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, as it stands, getting involved with the NUS requires one key thing, being prepared to be disappointed, which is unlikely to change if organisationally things remain the same.

Student Ambassador

The Student Ambassador Scheme is iconic with many undergraduates coming to Royal Holloway having previously met a bright, orange Student Ambassador that showed them around the campus, discussed their concerns, and made them feel at ease. The role is simple, to help meet the public-facing needs of the university by doing a series of different tasks, including campus tours, campaign videos, prospectus packing and more. The Student Ambassador role is varied and that makes it all the more interesting!

Pros:

• Learn about the university (you get to read lots of interesting facts that help strengthen your connection to this beautiful place)
• Develop a greater sense of pride (as the role is public-facing Ambassadors are given the opportunity to reflect on their experiences, which is nostalgic)
• Paid & Physically Active (money is helpful, but even more when you don’t have to sit at a desk all day long, particularly on a sunny day)
• Free food (the Student Ambassador team are amazing and often at the end of shifts they offer food and drinks for free, which is a cheeky fringe benefit)

Cons:

• Difficulty getting jobs at times (you have to be really fast in responding to emails and sometimes the team only looks for specific individuals that meet certain criteria)
• Shifts can start early (so if you are not a morning person it can be hard, it was for me)

My Experience: I became a Student Ambassador in my third year, giving tours since September 2020, which I found really fun because they encompassed all the things I enjoy, walking through scenic areas, chatting, and resolving queries. Since then, I have also done prospectus packing and further tours, which has further cemented my love of Royal Holloway. I think it is important to be honest and direct with new undergraduates about the pros and cons here, but also be honest with yourself. Ultimately, the Student Ambassador role is not just about getting money for giving tours as some might see it, rather it is a role for those that (like myself) have fallen in love with this campus and want to share that with new undergraduates. A rather romantic way of looking at it, but nonetheless a valid one. Do it to spread the love!

Conclusion

The narrative that university is all about academic stuff is clearly false, and the notion that a degree in itself is a key to an easier life is not so simple. Ultimately, we must work hard, overcoming personal challenges and upheaval to succeed in life, but university does not need to be either a memory of stressful all-nighters or constant slacking-off, rather it can be more than that. Above, I have outlined that life at Royal Holloway can be made more meaningful by getting involved in all, many, or some of the activities I tried out, which all add some much needed flavour to an already pretty expensive soup that is Royal Holloway, University of London. By getting involved, you not only add to the experiences of others and university, but also you become a better person for it. So get involved to ‘Be more & Do more!’.