Becoming part of our Officer Team at De Montfort Students’ Union is a rewarding experience that we encourage you to get involved in.
Nominations for our annual Officer Elections are now open, this is your chance to have your voice heard and spark the chance. You can learn more about how to nominate yourself here.
We have been in touch with some of our past Officers to see what they enjoyed most about their time representing you and how their experience benefited them in their career endeavors.
Derrick Mensah was the DSU Vice President Student Activities from 2017 – 2019. The structure of the Officer team has changed slightly since then, you can find out more about the new roles and what they do here.
Derricks’s achievements as an Officer
We asked Derrick about some of his achievements during his time in post, he highlighted several key projects and campaigns that he worked on including:
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Creating a Chairs Forum for student group Chairs to have a support system and stay connected
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The Black History Month Cultural Celebration where he worked in partnership with cultural societies. This even say over 400 students come along to enjoy a night of food, entertainment and to learn more about the African Caribbean culture. Derrick recalls this as one of his favorite events.
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Organizing the DSU Faculty Champs Event which brought together students and their lecturers to represent their faculties and take part in a series of fun events.
There’s plenty of opportunities presented to you by being part of the Officer team so we wanted to find out what Derricks most memorable moment was during his time at DSU:
“When you take on the role as an Executive Officer, your prime duty is to serve and to make sure the students you represent get the best and so all your hard work goes into ensuring that they get wonderful opportunities to grow, meet and connect with others and to have fun doing so.”
“For me, my memorable moments were every moment where I could sit back and look and be proud of achieving that goal be it at the Chair’s forum meetings, the DSU Awards, the RAG events, visiting societies and joining in with their activities and so much more.”
How has being an Officer benefitted Derrick now?
We love staying connected with our Officers after they have left us at DSU – although Derrick is still loving being around. Derrick has since become a special projects officer at De Montfort University, working to improve student engagement.
When asked how his experience at DSU has helped him, Derrick told his that “not only did it help me grow and develop in several areas, but it also allowed me to know my strengths and passion which has led to the job I am currently in.”
So, you’re liking the sound of being an Officer?
Derrick has some great advice for you if you’re considering nominating yourself in this year's Elections:
“To any student interested, I would just say do it. It all starts with a yes.”
“Having your voice heard not only helps you to feel alive and belong but it also helps those around you who are also scared of being heard. Although the thought might seem uncomfortable you will never know the joy it will bring of where it will take you if you never stand up to the mark. Be brave and in doing so you will unlock new heights to your character and your skills.”
Our Officer team are made up of five full-time Executive Officers and seven part-time Liberation Representation Officers. You can find out more about each of the role here.
Don’t get stuck on mute. Spark the chance by nominating yourself here.
Nominations for the DSU Officer Elections 2021 are open now and close on Monday 15 February at 11:59pm.
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