Rep of The Month: Oskar Warren

Why did you want to become a rep? 

In my first year, I became a Rep for my CV. I saw posters in Wettons about becoming a Rep and it sounded interesting so I decided to sign up. Then after I realised it had been good for professional development, I wanted that experience. I wanted the experience of working with academic staff and to use my experience on student committees. I work with other student committee members but didn’t have much experience with working with professional staff, so I wanted to invest more time into this.  

I also think it was good to give back and as time progressed there were more opportunities. I love my department and wanted to give more so I became a Senior Course Rep this year. 

I like that feedback is really useful and helps the department with student satisfaction and NSS scores. It feels good to provide positive feedback too and I enjoy giving back to staff in that way.  

What have you done so far this year, and what are your plans for next term in the rep role? 

This year, I have gathered feedback for the first SSAMs. There is currently no first year Rep, so I have taken on that role alongside being a second year Rep. Music is a very close-knit department, so it is mostly verbal feedback.  

Next term, I will be using my role in the Music Society to increase engagement and get broader feedback by creating google forms. We want to use the social media to advertise the form in bio links and on stories. 

How do you see being a rep impacting your future? 

Being a Rep is something that looks good on the CV, especially because it gives you organisational skills. As an experience, I think it feels like a different type of professionalism than with students on committees. Going into meetings can be scary at first but that’s good because it develops confidence and public speaking skills. It also gives me the ability to speak up especially if something is wrong. Being a Rep has taught me to be able to deliver feedback in a respectful and constructive matter which is a really important skill to have.  

The way the Rep system works is interesting. The system of stages between Course Reps, Senior Course Rep and School Reps is beneficial for professional development, and the progression in the system is also important for your CV to show development. Being a Rep is also something to speak about in job interviews and shows transferable skills.  

Next term I want to chair a meeting for the first time. It is a good opportunity to learn a new skill.  

What's the best thing about being a rep? 

That’s a difficult question. I think probably seeing the positive impact of the meetings. In the Wettons Student lounge, Tim Summers will go in and put up posters which show all the feedback that’s been given and what’s being done about it. This is a good way of closing the feedback loop. I also like being a part of the cycle of constant improvement. I enjoy getting to give a voice to a student who might be too scared to give feedback directly. I sometimes have students come up to me with feedback for me to pass on.  

I have really enjoyed building connections between the Music Society and being a Rep. I am able to bridge the gap and use the society as a way to get feedback acted on. Due to being both a Rep and Vice President of Music Society, I get to see all aspects of the feedback loop come into fruition. I am particularly appreciative of this regarding the open mic night at The Packhorse, as I was able to gather the feedback about students wanting more performance opportunities for popular music specialists, pass on that feedback to staff, and then watch popular musicians flourish in our fortnightly open mics as I am the individual who leads them - I get to watch musicians from throughout the music department and wider university gain confidence and musical skills week by week, and that is such an amazing experience which being a Rep has helped to facilitate. 

Staff in the department always acknowledge what bits of feedback cannot happen and why, so students are involved in the decision and have an understanding of the reasons. Staff then try and work around it and try to come up with compromises collaboratively.