We’re always recommending students join societies – it’s a great way of developing many skills useful in the working world, from leadership to working as a team, and we’ve heard from a range of employers that taking an active role in a student society is something they always look on very keenly in an application.
With this in mind, we’ve got a guest post today from MyKindaFuture, who caught up with Alina Evsina, President of King’s College Bright Futures to talk about what it’s like to run a student society, what the highs and lows are, and what would be recommended about the role?
King’s Bright Futures have a number of roles available, including President, so if you’re interested in taking on any of them then please read more about the roles and see the official role descriptions and apply!
“What advice would you give to someone who is considering joining a Bright Futures committee, particularly as the President?”
Hello everyone! First of all, let me tell you that being part of the committee is not only great fun but also really rewarding – you meet many new people, get to develop your communication and problem-solving skills! For people considering joining a Bright Futures committee, I would advise to make sure that you are familiar with the vision and aim of your Bright Futures Society so that you can help develop and reinforce it, or even challenge some of the things. For people considering joining the Society as a President, my main advice is DON’T BE AFRAID! When joining the Bright Futures Society at my university at the beginning of the year, I had doubts as to whether I could bring what was needed and handle it the “right way”.
What have you learnt?
The secret is that there is no perfect recipe to make things work, it is very important to try out what you can and bring in your own creativity – the MyKindaFuture team are very supportive and if sometimes things don’t go the way you would like them to go, you don’t get judged, you only get supported to achieve better things the next time. I’ll be honest, one of our events this year did not get a very good attendance rate, and initially I was worried how this would affect my presidency. However, this was a good learning experience for me and all the work I have done throughout the year was still widely recognized by the MKF team. I also would say that it is great in the beginning of the year to plan out and write out on a calendar what you ideally would like to happen throughout the year. Everyone knows that no plan can be followed 100% but hey, at least it will give you an approximate plan of actions and it will help you steer your team.
What have you learned about managing other people?
Ii is very important to emphasise that your committee is a TEAM. It does not matter whether one person has a huge number of tasks or one single task, if their task is not done there will be a part missing in your event – therefore, it is extremely important to value and emphasize every one of your committee members’ importance, contribution and advice. You will be the conductor of the orchestra, your task is to coordinate everyone’s work but remember that if your musicians are treated unfairly they will abandon, because they feel that their work is not valued and therefore not important enough. Be fair, encourage teamwork, and if you are not satisfied with someone’s work just take them aside and discuss peacefully and fairly. On that point I encourage you to join your Society as part of the committee as it is an amazing experience from which you will gain many valuable insights and knowledge!
How do I get involved?
If you are interested in getting involved with the KCL Bright Futures Society and be part of the Committee, there are a variety of roles available, click each for a full role description:
President, Vice-President, Marketing Manager, Events Manager, Membership Marketing Manager, Public Relations Officer, Diversity & Inclusion Officer
Email Khadijah@mykindafuture.com to have an informal chat and discuss the role you are interested in.
And if this piece has piqued your interest but the Bright Futures society isn’t for you, then take a look at the huge range of other student societies in the KCLSU!