My name is Maria Arapi and I have enjoyed Japanese culture including anime and manga ever since I was 12 years old. (I started learning Japanese at 14 and have learned to communicate in basic conversation). I have multiple collections of manga that I have multiple collections of manga that I have been building up and I absolutely love going to Forbidden Planet in Hanley to see new manga inspired by our weekly Monday seasonals!
My favourite anime are Toradora and Haikyuu!! and my favourite manga is the Black Edition Death Note. My most recently watched anime include: Komi Can’t Communicate, Blue Period and the first arc of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Why I am running for this position:
I am running for the position of Manager because I know that I can achieve this role of inclusivity and involvement. I have helped people to become more engaged within the society by developing, supporting, and coordinating the majority of the events that we hold for the benefit of the society at Staffordshire University. I have also sung praises where possible about our society when the opportunity has arisen through other societies that I am involved in. Within my role as Recreations Officer, I have hosted 3 events so far (including the pizza event) and I cannot wait to host more with you all.
I have been described by both friends and people that I have just met as passionate, approachable and outgoing; I absolutely love this society and its achievements both during and after lockdown. We have come so far totalling over 150 members on our Discord server. I hope for there to be 200 by the end of this calendar year!
I cannot wait to see our committee flourish once again this year and I have plans and activities for our society:
- More cosplay events
- Planning outdoor events – such as planning cinema trips, going ice skating or even something as simple as litter picking!
- Teaming up with other societies is something that I would absolutely love to do, and it can encourage members of other societies to join ours.
My experience and skills:
- People skills – working in hospitable and working environments for over 6 years
- Organisational skills – planning, being resourceful
- Leading and supervising groups – I have been able to acquire these skills at both work (with older people) and at school when I was captain of the basketball and netball teams from Years 6 to 10. I have led both of my module group tasks that I was assigned at Staffordshire University and I have always ensured to listen to people’s ideas and to work together as a team
- Professionalism – I work full time which has given me the experience and knowledge to bring a sense of expertise to the role
My commitment to SAMS:
If elected as manager, I will ensure to do the following for the society:
- Create a positive and diverse atmosphere for everyone to enjoy our events
- Votes and polls will become more prominent for decisions within SAMS so that members are more involved
- Voices will be heard; I will consider all people’s views and encourage members to inform me of any changes/improvements that can be made to the society
- Ensure a fair choice of film genres for Friday movie nights so that we have equal and fair selections for everyone to enjoy
- Check and review the #feedback-and-suggestions channel where people leave their thoughts and opinions on new ideas, anime films and seasonal anime to watch (you all have fantastic ideas and I would like you to let us know of any )
- Have regular meetings with the SAMS committee and sub-committee
One fun fact about me:
I cosplayed Taiga Aisaka (from Toradora!) at the Halloween-themed SAMS event that we had in 2021. We had a blast!:
Closing statement:
Together, we can continue to build our society for us and the future years to come.
I appreciate you reading my manifesto for the SAMS managerial role. You can get in touch via my student e-mail or my Discord account:
a027333k@student.staffs.ac.uk
or by Discord:
?? NintendoQueen ??#0022
Thank you for reading my manifesto,
~ Maria Arapi