The Ideal Student Representative

Abdullateef ISA

Student representatives play a vital role in universities, serving as a bridge between students and management. They are elected to represent students’ interests, amplify their voices, and address their concerns. But what makes an ideal student representative? What qualities and skills will an ideal student representative possess in order to serve his constituents (students) effectively?

Unfortunately, many student representatives today fall short of expectations. Some prioritize showcasing their leadership experiences in their curricula vitae (CVs) over addressing students’ concerns. Some lack necessary skills to effectively represent students and solve problems arising. In addition, some representatives are disconnected from students, making it challenging to engage with them and understand their concerns.

So, who should the ideal student representative be? First of all, he should be passionate about serving students and acting as their voice. Also, he should be interested in creating positive change and making lasting impact. Moreover, he should be a good communicator, able to listen actively, speak clearly, and negotiate effectively. Further, he should be a team worker, able to mobilize support, network, and work with diverse interests.

Some key responsibilities of an ideal student representative include providing listening ears to students’ voices, aggregating them, prioritizing them, and working with them; creating and maintaining reachable channels of communication; identifying and addressing students’ concerns; working collaboratively with every stakeholder to find solutions to issues; empowering students to be participatory in decision-execution processes; among others.

The ideal student representative is a passionate, committed, responsive, effective, and efficient leader. He demonstrates a high level of commitment to his roles and understands that the power he wields is enormous enough for him to represent, empower, and influence students and the university community. He understands that the changes he helps bring about can keep benefiting students and the university community long after he has graduated.

Similarly, just as student representatives provide numerous benefits, they also gain valuable skills and experiences. Some of the skills and experience a student representative will gain, as mentioned by Western Sydney University, include communication skills, negotiation skills, team-working skills, committee experience, leadership experience, problem-solving skills, motivation experience, organisational skills, team-working skills, lobbying experience, and presentation skills.

In conclusion, the ideal student representative prioritizes students’ voices and concerns. He possesses strong leadership, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills, and is dedicated to creating positive change. He attends meetings, engages with students, stays updated, and provides regular accounts to students and stakeholders.