Chatting with candidates: Undergraduate SRC
By Curieux
We reached out to all of your candidates to help you get to know the person you’re casting your vote for. While not all candidates got back to us, a few shared their plans for the 2021 SRC.
Voting is open until Monday (12 October) next week, so check your student emails to find a link to vote!
The Undergraduate Student Representatives
Jacob Webb
Summary of intentions:
Involve students with the happening of the university so it becomes more than just a place you study.
Find ways to best support students in these trying times.
Create an SRC that has student voices at the forefront of all their actions and with no reservations about voices and their ideas or concerns.
Hi my name is Jacob and I am a first-year student University of Canberra, I study a double degree in a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Politics and International Relations. And I’m also running for the SRC position in Business, Government, and Law. I’m originally from the South Coast, so unsurprisingly I’m quite a fan of swimming and any other beach activities. So while I was growing up, I got into swimming and beach/indoor volleyball. On the other side, I love bushwalks and hikes.
Why are you running for the SRC?
While I was going through high school, I found I had quite an interest in polices and policy formation so I spent my time in the SRC and Captaincy reviewing the policies and working with the students to make them as fair and best tailored to their needs and wants as students. In the position of SRC I would be looking at trying to find ways to better involve students with the happening of the university so it becomes more than just a place you study and becomes a place you feel involved with.
What is your vision and why are you the best candidate?
My goal is to find ways to better integrate the student voice at UC and find ways to best support students in these trying times. My vision is an SRC that has student voices at the forefront of all their actions and with no reservations about voices and their ideas or concerns. I know I’ll do well in this position if elected because of my many years of doing this with the students in my old school and with the youth of my community. Everyone truly felt like they had the voice and the power to make a change.
Ryan Neilsen
Summary of intentions:
Implement a review into the way UC handled the impacts of COVID-19.
Look at where changes can be made to the systems at UC, including a better system than the virtual rooms.
Ensure that the university is doing everything possible to maintain as low a carbon footprint as possible.
I am undergoing a Bachelor of Science degree, with majors in human biology and biology, as well as a minor in software engineering. I am an avid gamer and musician, often spending my downtime either playing the flute or composing music. I am fascinated by biology and it has become one of my greatest passions, particularly when it comes to human biology and genetics. I hope to have a career in health and would love to be able to help people and give back to my community by working in both private practice and the public sector.
Why are you running for the SRC?
I am running for the university council so that I can make an impact on university life as a whole. I was born in Canberra and have grown up around politics with both my parents working in the public service for their careers and being active members of their respective unions. Having this strong political background, I have always tried to find ways to participate in governments (whether that be school, university, or other groups etc).
What is your vision and why are you the best candidate?
I would love to be able to implement a review into the university’s handling of COVID-19 and identify points where we could have handled it better. I would also like to make changes, where possible, to the systems we currently use at UC and hope to propose a search for a better system that is better integrated than the virtual rooms. I would like to ensure that the university is doing everything possible to maintain as low a carbon footprint as possible. I feel with my previous experience and passion I am the best person for this role.