Hi! I'm Lilith, your new full-time officer for 2025-2026. I'm joining Leah and Precious, who are returning from last year's team. Here's a bit about what I've been up to in my first few weeks of being an officer!
Hi everyone! I’m Lilith Drizzle, your newly elected officer. Previously, I have spoken to some of you about my manifesto and what I will be pushing for this year. Inclusive accessibility, a more effective student rep system and a graduation that feels special. You’ll hear no end of those things from me in the coming year, however, today I have been asked to write something different. I’ve been asked to write about my experience becoming a student officer, and how I have been finding my feet in the role. It has certainly been a wild ride and I would love to take you on that journey with me.
Three weeks in, and it's been a whirlwind of activity, but I'm very excited for the journey ahead.
We began our first week by being shipped off to Keele for several days of training alongside our counterparts there. We covered all sorts of topics from University staff structures, emotive speaking and even what was essentially rebranded CBT in the workplace. As somebody who’s been wanting therapy for years, it came as quite the welcome surprise to find out that’s what workplace training entails.
At the end of my first week was the leaving party for the old officers. It was both a sad and a happy event with all the speeches. It was also quite surreal to think I would be doing the same in a year or two.
Since then it has been a whole host of meetings, committees and networking. And that’s on top of graduation! Helping out in London, graduating myself and even writing a backup speech to read in case a student can’t. The fact that I am so involved in an event I ran a protest about is quite hilarious. The irony is not lost on me!
Why am I being asked to write this only 3 weeks into my term though? The dust is far from settled! It is scary to think how little I feel I know and how I am closing in on 10% of the year being done. What drives that anxiety though is a FOMO. Rather than a “fear of missing out”, it’s a fear of not having the time to make change. I fear that I will spend too long grasping the nature of the situation to have the time to change it for the better. As I type this though, I recognise this as a drive to want to make change. And with the optimism pushed by everyone else here in the office, I can see that this drive will manifest into a very successful year.
Lilith