Written by Megan Winzer
When I nominated for the Student Representative Committee (SRC) in 2021 I had no idea the journey it would take me on. I had not much of an idea or personal experience with a Student Representative Council since high school and I nominated in order to contribute to the student voice on the Wagga Wagga campus.
After joining the SRC I began attending the fortnightly meetings and then when elections came around I was selected for the role of Social Media Officer and I have loved every second of it. Taking on the responsibility of all of the Wagga Wagga SRC’s social media pages was a larger task than I had initially expected but I was guided by my fellow SRC members and have learnt so many skills in marketing and social media.
Outside of my role I have gained communication skills, leadership skills, new friends and have above all else directly impacted the life of Wagga students.
What’s involved?
- Promoting networking opportunities for all students at Charles Sturt University
- Raise student ideas and issues with university decision makers
- Work towards creating a better study environment
- Organise student events
- Work on projects to improve student life
- Debate ideas in the student body
- Fortnightly meetings
- Collaboration and communication with other members of the SRC and beyond
The contributions of the SRC to the greater student experience is felt campus wide. The SRC are responsible for the organisation of weekly band nights, the committee also are in charge of affiliating the university clubs every year and helping to support, monitor and fund them to ensure they are in line with university policy and can provide the best student experience. These are just some examples of the contributions the SRC makes within the university.
A role breakdown
Executive roles allow individuals to take on greater responsibility within the committee, these roles and their responsibilities vary slightly between SRC’s and can be adjusted to suit each SRC’s needs.
The President is responsible for majority of the communications between the SRC and the university and are in charge of delegating tasks to other committee members which is particularly important when organising events. They also run every meeting and often create motions that need to be passed by the committee.
The Vice President has the additional responsibilities of assisting the president in their role. This often involves communicating with members of external organisations, helping to delegate or complete tasks and attending student senate meetings with the president.
The Secretary is tasked with organising the meeting agenda items and taking the minutes of every meeting to ensure an accurate record of all items of discussion.
The Treasurer is in charge of keeping records of purchases and the budget in order to ensure the money is spent appropriately and the budget is kept to. This is especially important in organising events and assisting clubs with funding.
Other roles that can be filled differ from SRC to SRC, however, there are roles such as Social Media Officer, Sustainability Officer and Events Organiser that you can be involved in, in order to enrich your experience in the SRC.
Get amongst it
If anyone wants an opportunity to learn these life skills and to help improve the student experience I would strongly recommend nominating to be on your SRC. The experiences I have gained as well as the friends I have made has made my experience in the committee more than worthwhile.
