Rep of The Month: Poppy Coates

Why did you want to become a rep?

I was passionate about advocating for student voice, and I wanted to be part of the mechanism through which feedback gets actioned. I only became a course rep in my third year, which was the same year I was elected as the 24/25 Women's Student Community Officer. By this time, I felt like I had explored campus, got involved with sports and societies, and was ready to share the good experiences I had with other students and to try improve it for them as well.  

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

I became a Senior Course Rep over Summer and so far I have organised a meeting for all Senior Reps in Psychology and working out how we will chair meetings, given the number of senior course reps. I've worked to make templates for the agenda and action log more accessible, through adding them onto different platforms for reps to access. I've also been working to make collecting feedback easier for all reps, as well as improving the visibility of this, through creating a new feedback form. This form was originally created and targeted for Integrated Masters Psychology Students (my cohort!) but my thought process was that if it was shared to all students it would make the feedback less reliable because Non-integrated Masters Students might fill the form out. That’s when I created a new form that worked on the basis that it could be sent to all students, who could select their year of study to help bridge the undergraduate and postgraduate gap. This way it is simpler for students and reps to give and collect feedback. Additionally, students can also specify their degree programme, so can say if they are doing psychology and mental health or doing clinical and cognitive neuroscience as examples. This can really narrow down how feedback should be dealt with for reps and make it really clear who they need to speak to in order to action change. I also added a specific section for EDI in the form, with that feedback getting brought up in the EDI section of the Staff-Student Action Meeting (which I campaigned for last year as a rep and as community officer).  

I want to keep up the good work and keep connecting with reps in the department and keep ensuring change is actioned and represent your academic interests. I want to keep slaying with all the other psychology reps!  

How do you see being a rep impacting your future?

The skills I have got should really help me develop personally and get a job. Being able to build a network with staff and students through things like Psychology Coffee Mornings, an event that is the direct outcome of previous SSAMs, has allowed me to forge new relations with staff and students. I think in future as we all move onto new roles, having made these connections will be great. Things like communicating with reps and students, as well as staff, and the collaborative nature of being a rep has been so useful for me. Not least to mention the problem-solving I've got from the issues that regularly come up! Its already on my CV and LinkedIn!   

What's the best thing about being a rep?

The best thing about being a rep is having an informal and open dialogue with staff. It really highlights all the great work they try and do for students, even when that isn't the easiest thing to communicate when they are lecturing. It's really great to make changes with them and work to improve student experience through things like the Psychology Coffee Morning and see the passion that they, students, and other reps bring!