All of this week, we’ll be featuring stories with your new Officer Team, and seeing what they’ve got planned for 2017/18. Next up, it’s Mollie Footitt, new DP Education at DSU…
*UPDATE: You can now read the second half of our conversation with Mollie on the DMU website here.*
Summer is always an exciting time at De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU), as we look forward to welcoming the new Officer Team who will #LeadYourDSU.
But who are they, and what makes them tick? All of this week, we’ll be featuring stories with the new team, and seeing what they’ve got planned for 2017/18.
Next up, it’s Mollie Footitt, new DP Education at DSU…
“I really like learning,” she said. “So, Deputy President Education is the role where I feel I can have the most valid input.
“I was a Course Rep in my second year, too, so I know how important the system is, how important supporting students is, and that’s why this is the perfect role for me to take on.”
And Mollie, who became a De Montfort University (DMU) Psychology graduate last week, is hoping to put her course to good use during her time in office.
She continued: “We did a lot of work on social psychology – like how you can work in a team, and how to get your point of view across – so I think that will be really important.”
Mollie will also coordinate Course Rep Conference in September this year for the hundreds of Course Reps and SRCs at DMU.
The DP Education portfolio is one of the largest, and covers all things ‘education’ both at DMU and beyond. So, what are Mollie’s aims for the year?
“I’d love for the students’ union to help with the employability of students even more.
“One of the things I’m targeting is workshops and mock interviews to help students feel more at ease whether it’s during or after uni.
“Personally, I find job interviews quite daunting, so having an idea of what to expect will help continue that really high level of employability we already have at DMU.”
Mollie is also planning a ‘know your academic rights’ campaign, plus additional support for the hundreds of Course Reps and School Rep Coordinators (SRCs) across the university’s four faculties.
But the big question is…how has Mollie found her new colleagues so far?
“They’re mad! Everyone is really good fun, and there hasn’t been a dull moment so far.
“Jess has taken it on herself to teach me a load of new [slang] words that I didn’t know before, but everyone is really hard-working as well.
“This time last year I didn’t know a lot about student politics in general, and ‘the student movement’, but I’ve learnt so much in the last year I want to develop that even more.
“It’s going to be a really great year.”
Mollie graduated from her Psychology course last week.
Mollie is also unique in that her predecessor, Augustus Mbanasor, will still be on campus as he completes the final year of his Accounting and Finance course.
“It’s still a strange concept that the roles will be reversed between us this year, but he’s been really supportive.
“He’s handed over some really great contacts and has told me that it will be a challenging year…but I knew that already!”
And what will students get to know about Mollie?
She explained: “I can be a bit weird! I’ll be quiet, and calm, and come out with a really strange or unique idea…or that’s what I’ve been told.
“I really like talking to people and socialising, so hopefully everyone will get to know me as the year goes on.”
...read the second half of our conversation with Mollie on the university website here!
You can follow Mollie’s work every step of the way on the students’ union website, and you can follow her on Twitter here.
“It’s going to be a really great year.”
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