Erryn Killiner

Hello, my name is Erryn Killiner and I’m running for the position of School of Arts, English and Languages (SAEL) Undergraduate Representative.
 
I am running for School Representative to help improve the quality of the educational experience the University has to offer, create a more inclusive environment of community within the school and to improve the standard of satisfaction that SAEL has.
 
I’m currently an English and Film Student and I have previously been representing the student body as a Course rep for English. A large part of my experience included taking part in Student Council meetings. These meetings allowed me to embody my role as course rep and focus on course feedback, how to maintain standards on a wide scale and finer details of specific course satisfaction and steps taken to achieve the same quality for the next cohort are also considered. This has led me to develop communication and teamwork skills by working with other Reps and staff. I have improved my ability to present ideas concisely and gaining new skills in diplomacy. These are characteristics that will enable me to be an effective School Representative for you

This year I am President of the Film Society which has given me immeasurable experience in communicating for the sake of members' education and wellbeing, talking to academics and educators to encourage the provision of addition support during the pandemic and I have also been given an insight to what students in this area would like implemented to ensure they receive the best education and hence earn the grades they deserve. I am also the secretary of the English Society which means I deal with a lot of paperwork every single day and I deal with the satisfaction of members and their experience. I enjoy representing these societies and hope to represent SAEL with the interest of the student body being a priority. These experiences have allowed me to see a variety of perspectives on the university experience which is a valuable asset to this role.
 
If elected I intend to:-

• Help improve the quality of the educational experience by providing all students with the same equipment, access and support (for both their personal problems such as a death in the family and academic problems such as a drop in grades).

• Extend the time which students can give feedback to increase outreach. Staff-student relationships are a hugely important part of the university experience and many staff members tend to inadvertently place a wall between themselves and the students. I believe this is unfair and there should be an endless feedback option for students to ensure that they understand the material, that are coping well with the work and that they do not have additional unanswered questions.

• Introduce a platform (such as a Facebook Page or Microsoft Teams Groupchat) for the School Rep and all Course Reps across the span of the school for cohorts, making it easier to communicate with them outside of Student Council and SAEL general meetings. This will increase interaction and pathos between all Course Reps and the School Rep while also enabling the tackling of problems in a diplomatic way that will suit each representative and the student body.

• Create and format handover documents for new or upcoming Representatives to help them settle into their role and give an insight to their responsibilities and previous issues that have been resolved as well as the issues that are not yet solved or those that remain under surveillance.

I am dedicated to improving the university experience for both staff and students and put great importance on making a contribution to the university. Being the SAEL Undergraduate Representative and making the lives of each student easier while making their university experience much less stressful and painful would be an honour.

Vote for Erryn for somebody that has your best interests at heart and somebody that will fight for you until the end.