My Insight to Volunteering at Reading

Katy Ashford - Community & Development Officer

Statistics recently released by the Institute for Volunteering Research reveal that... ‘87% of employers think that volunteering can have a generally positive effect on career progression for people aged 16-25’

I think we can all agree that this is a statistic hard to ignore. I think it’s also safe to assume that we all come to University to increase our chances of getting employed, but the question is, what is going to make you stand out from the crowd? What’s going to give you that competitive edge?

Of course, your degree is central and it would be foolish to think that being a volunteer is going to guarantee you a job. But being seen as a volunteer tells potential employers about your character, your motivation, initiative, creativity and reliability. Volunteering will also provide you with a wealth of experiences to draw on in interviews - which hopefully illustrates why you're the best person for the job.

Let’s take two hypothetical English Language students (I chose this subject purely on the basis that I studied it) apply for the same graduate scheme at a large company. Both students have 2:1s, their applications show they have done some research into the company and they both sell themselves impeccably. The big difference is, one of the students demonstrates a much wider 'university experience': President of a sports club, Course Rep and Community Volunteer. It's a no brainer, it's obvious who gets the job! But I think the reason why I rave on so much about volunteering is the self satisfaction you can gain from it. Granted it might not be the ‘coolest’ activity you may ever participate in – when I was digging weeds in the snow at a local primary school after a somewhat latish night, there were several moments when I did contemplate my reasoning as to why I thought it would be a good idea. But seeing the final result, and knowing I helped create a memorial for parents that
some of the children had recently lost, I realised it was probably the ‘nicest’ activity I could ever be part of. I got the same feeling when I served food to a homeless man or just had a cup of tea and a chat with a local elderly resident.

RUSU offers so many different opportunities for you to get involved with - from picking vegetables in the Secret Garden to being a team leader in the Romanian challenge. Even if you think you might not be able to spare much time, there are loads of one-off opportunities to get involved in and it all starts with our Big Volunteering Weekend on the 12th and 13th October.

Come along and meet us at the very first Volunteering Fayre TODAY, 11.00am to 3.00pm or for more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing volunteer@reading.ac.uk

I really hope to see you soon.

Best wishes,
Katy Ashford
RUSU Community and Development Officer
 

A Hello and Some Good Advice from RUSU's Education Officer

When I think of the summer vacation, I think warmth. I imagine most of you are fantastically bronzed, detoxing on sparkling water and sunning yourself in some obscure location just off the coast of Costa-del-anywhere-but-England. Realistically, I have a hunch that one or two of you may have learnt so much from watching too much of the Antiques Roadshow that the temptation to morph into Del-boy and open a Vintage Bric-a-Brac in your local town is quite frankly overwhelming. Either way, I hope you’re all itching to get back to the daily grind that is student life. Pleasantries aside, the next few weeks warrants a massive

Emma Jackson -  Education Officer

welcome back, or welcome to Reading!

After three years as an undergraduate, I will now spend the next year as your Education Officer – representing you on any and all academic issues within the University, locally and nationally.

After being elected into office, based on my manifesto, I made many promises about what I would spend my time lobbying the University for. With major focus going into improving resources, better feedback and trying to attain more support for you, my aim was to hit the ground running the minute I stepped into office.There’s not a second to lose! So far, I've spent the summer not only training, but preparing reports and evidence on various topics, such as; why we need more guidance for dissertation/final year project supervisors and why we need a 24 hour library in deadline intensive periods. These may seem specific, but don’t worry, what may seem like necessary evils (hidden course costs) are not off my radar! A more comprehensive outline of my aims is available on the RUSU website, so please do check it out.

Aims for the year aside, I have found that the benefit of hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing. There is so much I wish I knew when I began my Undergrad. My number one recommendation this year is to get involved in anything you can, be it sports, societies or volunteering. Your time at uni goes so fast, and this is the best way of meeting new people and becoming part of a wider network. It also acts as a great sanity buffer when that elusive workload inevitably increases.

Come to think of it, I have a few more tips that may help you get the Autumn term off to a flying start..... 

• New students – Over packing is an issue. There is no need to seize the entire contents of your parents humble abode, but in the same breath I will say don’t worry if you forget to bring anything. Reading is not in the middle of no man's land. There are many shops available when in dire need of a forgotten wooden spoon and we have a shop on campus (Campus Central) that stocks many of those essential items.
• Get your NUS Extra card sorted so you can abuse your beautiful student discount at your earliest convenience.
• Blackwell bookshop in the Students' Union building offers discounts on key textbooks for your course. The magic of this being that you can pre-order your books before you get here and collect them when you arrive! That’s another thing off your to do list.
• For any second years and above, Blackwell also allows you the option to sell back your books. Providing they are the latest edition, you can turn your old books into more than dust catchers.
•  A stash of Berocca or Lemsip (depending on preference) is a must. No idea why, but everyone seems to come down with the flu a week or so into term.

There are many exciting new changes on the horizon. We have a brand new 24 hour study space located behind the RUSU building (previously known as 'The Lounge'). Gone are the days where students smuggled a kettle into goodness knows where, as 'The Study' is equipped with all sorts of wondrous utilities; comfy chairs, flat desks and even a decked area. Did I mention that it was 24 hours? There is not much more a student could want. Although rest assured, your RUSU President, Mark and I, are still pushing for more 24/7 library provisions, so we will keep you posted on our progress!

So, how can you get involved in the academic representation structure? Become a Course-Rep! The role of a Course Rep is vital in student representation across the campus. It allows students to be involved in the development and decision-making of their departments, permitting that all important student voice to be heard. Aside from the positive change you could make, it is an excellent string to your bow in terms of developing future employability skills. Oh, and guess what – nominations are open in the first two weeks of term! If you feel like taking the reins of your academic experience then why not nominate yourself.

Being your Student Officer is not about quotas or buzzwords, it’s about making sure anything we do this year really counts and makes a positive difference to your education. Of course, if you have any qualms or queries with anything, please do not hesitate to get in touch via email, twitter or feel free to drop in and see one of us. I look forward to working for you this year!

Emma Jackson
RUSU Education Officer

This week is all about YOUR VOICE – we need to hear it!

Students’ Unions are at their core, organisations of your voices, of you directing what you want worked on or achieved.

You tell us your opinions every day through your participation in sports and societies, being Course or Faculty Reps, on JCR committees, through volunteering, or via one of the other numerous ways in which you get involved with the Union on a daily basis.We also have official channels by which you can direct what your Union does and over the years, these channels have evolved and changed to make it easier for you to tell us what you want.

Students have been putting ideas forward since RUSU has been in existence and the Union has continuously fought to make important decisions and bring those ideas to life. Like deciding to fight and protest against the £9000 tuition fee rise in 2010 and making the decision not to march again in 2012.

We have helped and supported our sports teams more, in a ‘Year to Cheer’ campaign, have committed to fighting for gender equality and have boycotted Nestle for  a period of 5 years now, because that’s what you asked us to do!

These and many other decisions have been made by us on your behalf because this Union is YOUR UNION!

This week we’re asking you to tell us what you see as your priority going forward. We need you to tell us by voting, so we know what to focus on and how we can best represent you.

Our new ‘Change it’ forum and has been a real success, with students submitting some great ideas which now need to go to an ‘All Student Vote’.

Whether you agree, disagree or want to abstain, it’s so important that you take the time to vote.

If you represent students in any way, whether that’s on a sport or society committee, on a JCR, as a Course or Faculty Rep or in any other way, you have a responsibility to your membership and part of that responsibility is ensuring your Union is working for them, so vote.

Voting is open to all students, so go online, take 5 minutes and cast your vote (please log in to view and vote).

This week is all about YOUR VOICE – we need to hear it!

How do we know what to fight for if you don’t tell us - It only takes 5 minutes to direct your Union.

The decisions made here, will outline the course that RUSU will take for the next 2 years. So let’s make sure we get it right and get your voices heard!

Vote now!

Thanks
Ceri Jones
VP Democracy and Campaigns

Vice-Chancellor becomes a Postgraduate Champion!

Postgraduate fees are unregulated and are steadily rising. Students have to pay for these fees up front; but there is no government loan scheme like there is at undergraduate level and a considerable lack of other financial help. This means that access to postgraduate study is increasingly becoming based on the ability to pay and not the student’s ability to study. Not only is this considerably unfair, it is a driver for social inequality and has a damaging effect on economic growth and social cohesion.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has launched a campaign in an attempt to champion the needs of postgraduate taught students and spur the sector into action regarding the problematic funding situation.

Vice-Chancellor, Sir David Bell, Postgraduate Part-time
Officer, Sian Lane and VP Academic Affairs, Kara Swift

Reading University Students' Union (RUSU) has actively supported this campaign and approached both the Vice-Chancellor and three local MP’s to agree to become Postgraduate Champions by signing a checklist.

The Vice-Chancellor, Sir David Bell was immediately happy to support the campaign and said 'Despite the recent focus on changes to funding undergraduate education, it is essential that we do not lose sight of the status and significance of postgraduate education. Many postgraduate students represent the future of our research efforts in this country.  Others use postgraduate study to develop further knowledge and skills that will assist them in working life.

At the University of Reading, we are committed to strengthening the range of postgraduate opportunities available in the future, but without students having access to adequate funding, the UK is in danger of failing to realise the potential of the remarkable and highly-qualified talent that we have at our disposal.'

Following this success we are calling on any students who would like to join the campaign to write to their MP’s asking them to become Postgraduate Champions. I can provide template letters or addresses should anyone need them.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with myself or Sian Lane, Postgraduate Part-Time Officer, should you want to get involved.

KaraSwift
Vice President Academic Affairs

The Student Eats Project

Justin Groves, a final year Undergraduate studying Applied Ecology and Conservation at the University of Reading has written an interesting guest blog for us about volunteering and the Student Eats project......

I had just been appointed President of Reading University Botanika Society when I was asked by RUSU to attend a meeting about a new vegetable growing project on campus. RUSU had received funding from the National Union of Students (NUS) to develop a vegetable garden and given that Botanika undertake just that sort of thing, we were very keen to get involved.

It was by sheer chance that during the summer holidays, whilst on my Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) placement on biodiversity, that I stumbled across the rather derelict and forgotten Bridges Hall Walled Garden. I could instantly see the potential to make this area an excellent social and sustainable growing space for students to enjoy. As with any project, it has taken time and patience to get off the ground, but since the end of January we have had a great team of students visiting each week and overseeing its transformation.

As a result of the NUS 'Student Eats' funding, which supports institutions across the UK in cultivating their

own student-led growing sites for fruit and vegetables, we took the decision to change the name of the Botanika Society to Student Eats Botanika and amalgamate it into the NUS  initiative, so that RUSU and the society did not conflict. This has allowed the society to lead the project and has provided our members with the most fantastic space within which to work. The task ahead is considerable, given that the garden has not been tended for over five years and as a result is very overgrown.Plans were drawn up of the intended layout of the garden, although this has changed and evolved over the period as the garden has started to establish itself.

Since January, around a dozen student volunteers have helped out at every session; despite some of the most atrocious weather. Together we have worked tirelessly in reclaiming at least a third of the garden that had been lost to scrub, marking out beds and giving the shed a much needed tidy!

Since the start of the year, over 260 hours have been put into this project by volunteers and with spring at last here, this will increase as the lighter evenings make volunteering to help much easier for both for students and members of the community.

We hope to grow the student volunteer base further, as well as involving RUSU and University staff and the local community. The project has funding for a three year period and after that the challenge will be that the garden will need to sustain itself by way of selling the produce to generate money to cover the running costs.

The more volunteers we have involved the better and joining the volunteer team is simple. Check out our Facebook page and blog, or pop in to Student Activities Centre in the Students' Union to have a chat to the Volunteer Co-ordinator about the project.

Hope to see you at the Walled Garden soon.

Justin Groves
3rd Year
BSc Applied Ecology and Conservation

Why Interns Need to be Paid

Last week, you may have seen in the news that Reading Football Club advertised a year long unpaid internship for a ‘first team performance analyst’. This sparked controversy amongst internship campaigning organisations as the internship was not only unpaid but did not pay travel expenses. As this internship was offered at our closest premiership club, I thought I would state RUSU’s position on unpaid internships.

RUSU believes that all workers should be paid for the job that they do. However, we do recognise that students will wish to gain experience in their desired careers to improve their chances of getting the jobs that they want on graduation. Unpaid internships inhibit students from low-income backgrounds from having a chance to get the experience that some professions require.

Students who wish to make their CVs more attractive often volunteer their time to partake in all sorts of activities. These activities include work experience but also include volunteering in the conventional sense. This is fantastic and it is often these students who get the best jobs after university. However, it is important that students get the best opportunity to get a job because they have the correct skillset for it and not because they can afford to run a car for a year and give up lots of their time for free, like Reading FC are asking students to do. It is also vitally important that whoever gets the job or internship, can afford to do it.

Intern Aware, an organisation that campaigns for an end to unpaid internships, has released statistics that show that only 25% of interns are able to make ends meet with the compensation offered for their time and that over 65% of interns rely on family members to help them financially when they are committing their time.  The harsh financial times we are in make it even harder for families to help out students when they are forced to work for little or no pay.

The London School of Economics estimates that living in London for a month will cost a young person, on average, £1,000. The average length of an internship is three months (so £3,000 in total). Therefore, if a first year undergraduate University of Reading student enters into a London-based internship this year, they would have committed themselves to:

·         £9,000 in tuition fees

·         An average of £5,400 in living costs while at University

·         £3,000 for the internship

So that is a total of £17,400. Over three years, that is £52,200! That is equivalent to approximately two weeks pay of a Reading FC footballer,but crippling to a student from a low-income background with no help or job,but with a desperate ambition to be successful in later life.

I encourage all students to get the best that they can out of their University experience and to prepare themselves for the competitive job market that they will face after graduation.

I also encourage employers to pay their interns. They provide you with valuable work, they will be more loyal to you if they know that they are appreciated for what they do and you will be helping to increase the chances of those who have been given the smallest of opportunities in life,if you pay them for their time.

If you are a student and would like to receive free financial advice, please visit the Student Advisors in the RUSU Advice, Representation and Campaigns centre (ARC) or email the advice team. Also, if you would like to find paid internships, visit the Job Shop in the RUSU building.

If you are employer and would like to advertise a paid internship in the Job Shop, please visit the Job Shop online.

James Fletcher
RUSU President

Win or lose, standing for election is a great experience.

So RUSU Elections week is fast approaching and this is a bittersweet time for current Student Officers.

On the one hand, we get very excited about seeing potential candidates come to our offices to talk to us about being a Student Officer next year. However, on the other hand, we realise that we are ‘on the home stretch’ in so far as our tenure in office is concerned.

I have been thinking about my own experience of RUSU elections throughout this period, as I have actually run in two.

In 2011, I ran to be a Student Trustee and in 2012 I ran to for President with different outcomes from each. In my first election, I didn’t win. Emotionally, I am now able to watch both this election and the one I won on RU:ON’s website. As you can see from the stills on this page, the look on my face in both elections at the time the results were being announced is quite different. Note the vast change in the facial expression and choice of shirt.

There is something to be said for my experiences in both elections though. In both, during the campaign weeks, I met some amazing people who I would never have otherwise met. I also learnt a vast amount about a variety of student experiences on our campus. As we all know, no student experience is the same and candidates find this out extremely quickly during campaigning. All the candidates are helpful and supportive towards each other. They drive you on, no matter how tired you are.

There are a variety of activities such as Hustings (candidate’s question time) that may push you out of your comfort zone, but someone much cleverer than I once said, that’s exactly where you are most alive. I suppose what I am trying to say, is that elections are a fantastic experience and it’s not all about the winning, but what you gain along the way.

So have a think. You could be sitting in my office next year, experiencing all the great things I have.

Elections nominations are open until Thursday February 14th, 4.00pm. Student Officers are always available to speak to you about any questions regarding the elections process. All of our diaries are on our doors so don’t hesitate to come and talk to us.

If you do decide to stand for any of the positions, good luck. Win or lose, you won’t regret it.

James Fletcher
President