Sarah Flanagan is a final year Biotechnology student. She was voted in as DCU Science and Health Convenor for 2012/2013.
How did you find your role as Science and Health Convenor?
It was good. In my faculty I didn’t have that many students coming to me about class problems it was more maybe one individual who had a problem with an exam or something like that. There was more interaction with the faculty as well than I expected. It was just different then I expected it to be really.
Did you encounter many difficulties while you were Convenor?
Mainly balancing college workload with extra-curricular activities and then being convenor. As I am in final year this semester I was doing my final year project and was in the labs a lot of the time – it made it more difficult to have time for everything. Time was the biggest difficulty.
In a recent College View survey, 7 out of 10 students did not know who their Convenor was. Why do you think that was?
I’m not sure. I tried to send out weekly emails but it could just be a matter that people don’t read them because they get so many other emails. There would be some people that know their Convenor really well but then others just come in to their classes and go home. You try and get as much interaction as you can but it is hard to touch base with everyone. During orientation week I was trying to give as many of the science and health tours as possible. It could just be the second and third years that just don’t take an interest in it.
Finally any words of advice for the incoming Convenors?
Keep on top of your work. Manage your time well and then do as much as you can to interact with the students. There is only so much you can do. In my emails I used to tell students what was on in terms of the social side of college life so even just general interaction can help.
Nicole O’Connor
Image Credit: Eimear Phelan
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