Hey! My name is Nashwa – Nash for short. I studied Law with Human Rights here at Essex and graduated in July 2021, since then I have been your VP International at the SU. To share a little more about myself, I am from Syria but grew up Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I lived in Towers for three years (I don’t know how I did it either!) before moving to Meadows this year. And most importantly, like many of you, Essex is my home.

University should be the best years of your life, where your experience goes something like this:  

You turn up → You make lifelong friends and great memories → You get an amazing degree → You move on to a brilliant career!

I know it’s not that simple! But I believe that the role of the SU President is all about working tirelessly to try and make sure that as many students as physically possible have that experience. That’s what I’ll strive for – no less. To do this we need more for our students!

More Support:

• The University loves to shout about how global Essex is, yet the standard of support that our international students receive is nowhere near where it should be. Having seen this first-hand, I would be able to bring these issues forward in committees and lobby for better support, from the top. 
• We need greater well-being support as well as making existing services more accessible and visible.
• We need Nightline back to increase the safety of our students after nights out, it’s unacceptable that Nightline still has not returned, especially during such a turbulent time.
• Students need much better support to get the career they want! 

More Events:

• I’ve had the opportunity to lead on numerous celebrations and events, with hundreds of students being engaged in each project, including:
  • A week of Diwali Celebrations.
  • A week of Lunar New Year Celebrations.
  • 10 days to celebrate One World Essex! 
• As reflected in student feedback, students want to see more large-scale events and that would be a big focus of mine – free noodles on the square again, anyone? :) 
• I think it’s so important to have such events that allow us to learn about different cultures and also connect with one another – to all my Arabs, it’s time we try and organise a shisha night on campus!

More improvements on teaching:

It’s absolutely crucial that our University is providing brilliant teaching, and that students are listened to when they say how they would like that teaching to be delivered to them. This is definitely an area where improvement must be made. It should also be remembered that education is not just about getting a piece of paper with a list of qualifications on it, students need to gain valuable skills and knowledge that they can take with them into their future careers.

More Inclusion: 

• Everyone should feel included, I felt like Essex was my home, and every student should feel that way!
• Reconnecting students has been a priority of mine over the last year, and we can take it even further this year, by helping students to make friends and avoid feeling isolated.
• Every community must be looked after, and we must continue to celebrate the diversity of our student body.

And more than anything, students need to be heard and I would love to be that listening ear. I bring with me two years of experience within the Students’ Union, a new perspective on the role and the commitment to achieve great things – together. So, step it up and #VoteNash for your SU President!