It’s a new academic year! And that means many things, including newly elected NUSU student representatives. I had the joy of catching up with the new Ethics and Environment student rep and asking all about the role and their hopes for the year ahead. Read on to listen into our conversation.

Hi Eleanor! Could you tell me a bit about who are and your experience at Newcastle University so far?
Hi, I’m Eleanor and I’m this year’s Ethics and Environment rep at NUSU! I’m a Stage 4 student studying for an Integrated Master’s in Earth Science. I’ve really enjoyed my course because it’s so varied, I can’t believe I’m in my Master’s year now. I’ve had a great few years in Newcastle and societies have been a huge part of my experience.

They’ve given me the chance to meet so many great people. I’ve joined various societies over the years including Environment and Earth, Model UN, Irish Dance and Latin and Ballroom. I’ve also been involved in the committees for some of these. I was Secretary and then President of Environment and Earth, and now I’m Secretary for Model UN.

Amazing, so good to hear how societies have shaped your uni experience. So how did you get interested and involved in the NUSU rep role?
Last year when I was President of the Environment and Earth Society I was asked by (now retired) Senior Lecturer Dr John Appleby if I wanted to get the society involved with ‘Hope not Heat’ a youth climate event he was organising. I reached out to other student groups like the Plant-Based Unis Campaign (PBU) and the Beach Cleaning Society. We put on events in addition to the organised public “Hope not Heat” events. John had mentioned the E&E rep role which I hadn’t heard of before and I became interested! At the end of the academic year, I attended Student Council to support a PBU motion. At that student council meeting. They were also electing the E&E rep and others encouraged me to go up for it. So that’s how I was elected! I’m very excited about the role given my passion for sustainability!

So now you’re elected, what’s the first thing you want to do? How can others get involved?
The first thing I’m doing is starting up the Student Environmental and Sustainability Committee (SESC). It will be attended by reps from sustainability linked student groups and Environment and Sustainability (E&S) course reps. It provides a link between students and staff as I also attend the University Sustainability Committee (USC) where I raise environmental concerns from students. I’d really recommend becoming an E&S rep if you want to get involved and attend SESC where you can pass on environmental issues you want to raise from your School. Also, I want to encourage students to reach out to me about ideas/concerns so I understand student opinions on sustainability and can use this to shape future initiatives!

Brilliant! Well, I’m looking forward to seeing the SESC come together and for all the work it will do for sustainable action on campus.