Elisa Adams

BA Drama and Applied Theatre

What you do

This is my third year of volunteering with the Union. This year I have been on the RAG Committee – Raise and Give – as Coordinator and Social Secretary for NSU/Media. I was also on Freshers’ Team at the start of the year and volunteered in NSU/Community Week.

Why you got involved in volunteering with the Union

Originally I got involved to make friends and because I have always had a passion for raising money for charity so joining RAG, which raises tens of thousands of pounds every year for local, national and international charities seemed a great place to start.

What you have done

As Committee Coordinator for RAG I have planned and executed fundraising events for all the student body to take part in. I have had the opportunity to meet loads of students and some great charities and this year RAG has raised over £35,000 for charity. The main bit of the year was RAG week when dozens of students go out in the day to raise money and the evening has loads of great social activities and you really feel part of a team.

As Social Secretary for NSU/Media I have had the chance to make sure everyone involved in student media feels involved as well as planning all the social activities from going for food to bowling to planning bar crawls.

On Freshers’ Team I was one of 300 volunteers who helped hundreds of students move into their halls and help them have a great start to life at Northumbria.

What you got out of it

Have definitely developed my communication and organisation skills as well as my interpersonal skills. I am lot more confident and have made more friends than I would ever have imagined.

What next

My volunteering has helped me decide what I want to do as a career and I am coming back to Northumbria next year to do a Masters in Cultural and Creative Industries Management as first step to get into art management.