Esther Pedro writes about being a committee member of the Christian Union Society, and how being involved in campus activities can help students advance in their career
Christian Union is a society for students of all Christian denominations to come together in fellowship. Our committee meeting is every Tuesday at 6 p.m. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a Christian; everyone is welcome to join. The society’s aim is to make sure every student on the UCD campus has the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel. I joined because, to put it frankly, I’m a Christian who really values that aspect of my life. As a fresher last year, I found the society had a warm and welcoming vibe, and it left a mark on me. This is why I decided to join the committee, where I serve as the Public Relations Officer and the Freshers’ Representative.
My role as P.R.O. involves a lot of designing. I design the weekly posts, flyers, and slides for the meeting. I also designed this year’s society banner. As the Freshers’ Rep, I was tasked with planning Freshers’ Week. One week of events took months of summer planning; it was fun but also tiring. The most enjoyable part was seeing freshers engage with us both during the sign-up and in attendance at our events. I loved each moment of planning and put careful thought into each event.
I admire people who know exactly what career path they want to pursue; I wish it was that easy for me.
The process of joining the committee was on a nomination basis. You first get nominated by society members, and out of those nominated people, the team is chosen by the previous committee. Each society is different in how and when they choose the new committee.
I admire people who know exactly what career path they want to pursue; I wish it was that easy for me. One of the reasons I threw myself into this role was because of my uncertainty about what career to pursue. Being a committee member allows me to grow personally and try out and sharpen my skills, such as teamwork, organisation, and Canva. I love that I have the ability to challenge myself and come up with designs for the weekly posts. I have also started posting fun reels for engagement.
A week in my role looks something like this:
Friday – Committee Meeting, reflections, planning for the next event
Saturday – Design posts and most of the slides. Sometimes not all the details are out for the slides.
Sunday – Post on Instagram and send the designs to the secretary for the email and events officer for promoting on the WhatsApp group chat.
Monday – Design posters for the next week’s meeting.
Tuesday – Finalise slides by 10 a.m. but be prepared for any last-minute changes during the day. Main Meeting at 6; set up the place by 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday – Have posters done and emailed to the right person.
Thursday – Rest day. Some advice I was given by a friend in another university who was a committee member for her Christian Union was to have a day where you do no committee-related tasks. Having a rest day is important. Sometimes my rest day is on Monday instead.
I advise every student to get involved in a society, either through participating in committees or attending. There are ups and downs to being a committee member. While it’s rewarding, it takes a lot of your time, which I wish was mentioned to me a bit more before I took on the role. It has taken me a while, but once you find that flow, things do get easier.
What’s great about CU is the variety of events. One week we’re having a quiz night, and the next we’re having a prayer night. It has this lovely balance of deepening your faith and having fun. Next semester we’re having an events week, which will include an event every day similarly to Freshers. Although I never seem to be on the winning team, I always have fun at our events.
Not every role in every society is the same, and not all societies have the same number of committee members either. There are only eight of us on CU’s official committee. Some societies have double or even quadruple that.
My experience has been positive. I am glad I took up the role and gained this valuable experience. It was hard, and at times I did want to quit out of tiredness before I implemented the rest day. I have a great team, and we work well together. Societies are a great way to figure out career paths or simply to gain experience. I’d recommend getting involved with a society in any way, shape, or form.