The role and responsibilities of the position:
The role of the Disabled Students’ Officer is to promote disability awareness on campus and represent students with disabilities. It involves putting on events, running campaigns and working closely with the Disability and Well-Being office.
Three qualities someone interested in this position should possess are:
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Patience
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Commitment
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Openness
Things don’t tend to happen overnight and you do need a degree of perseverance to get things done. Other than that, it helps if you are open to ideas and suggestions. The role is definitely what you make of it so don’t be afraid of trying new things.
The best part is:
The most rewarding aspect is making changes that you know will benefit students with disabilities at LSE and the satisfaction gained from putting on events that changed people’s perceptions of disabilities.
It’s not all fun and games. The most challenging aspect is:
Getting people to events and meetings! LSE students are consistently juggling lots of different commitments and it can be difficult to persuade people to attend another event. It also requires engaging with a bureaucratic system, which can be frustrating.
The most surprising part of the job is:
The amount of time it takes to plan and put on events.
The advice I would give to someone thinking of standing:
Try and have a clear idea about what you want to achieve and then stand. The Students’ Union offers lots of support for candidates so make sure you use it.
Current Officer: Polly McKinlay