Who am I?

My name is Katie Rayner (She/Her), I'm a third year Cognitive psychology student running to become your Activities and Opportunities Officer of 2024/2025!!

What have I done so far...

• I’ve worked as a Student Trustee advocating for students' wants and needs! 

This position supplied me with networks in the SU and team working abilities that I will take into a role like the A&O position. As A&O, I will help to provide more opportunities like this to expand career prospects of students.

• Ive worked as Publity and Trip Secretaries for UEA kayak!

Volunteering in UEA kayak has meant that have promoted and planned events, enabiling me to communicate and undertsand students needs. 

• I am invested in helping others through Activity fundraising! 

I have helped raise over £5000 for charities using sport! Including two charity Kayak Marathons, Charity Quizes, volunteering for the numerous wildlife trusts and fundraising for Hope for Children.  

My goals:

Engagement

To increase engagement in sports and societies. This year has brought the lowest engagement for the universities clubs for obvious reasons including fincance and lack of support! I aim to help this issue by creating more inclusivity and accessibility to societies and sports...

- Creating more Openess for funding of clubs. It can be challenging living within the current financial crisis students are under, not to mention how expensive memberships can be. I will make investing clubs and societies finantially worth it for members by asking for detailed assesments of trips and events run by your club or society. This aims to reduce prices and prevent unecessary stress for students who struggle with affording high prices!

-I will manage and run affordable events to allow students to have a go at engaging with their interests, whether that be in Sport clubs, Societies, or even getting involved with the Student Union. Many students need opportunities to get involved and I believe that I can erradicate the boundries between them and their passions! 

- I will also make it so that UEA Moves points are more achievable!! Why should a coffee take more than 50k worth of work to get?! I aim to give your engagement more recognition and credit.

Providing Support

-  Making sure societies and clubs are functioning how they should be! Providing support to committees by creating more detailed role outlines and continuing and increasing committee and event drop-ins can mean that students can have a fallback when times get hard, especially when coming into a role you've never done before! 

- Providing more support to events run by students! There are amazing events run by students that create real opportunities to meet people and get involved.. I am to put more emphasis on the importance of these events by promoting them throughout the su providing more structured guidence!

Representation

- Finally, I am to emphasise the promotion of clubs and societies from the SU by using drop-ins to check out and advertise sessions and events run by students! I believe independed work of students is under-represented especially in more niche sports and societies.