REPRESENTATION
If you've read the Marketing section on the page, you will know by now: representatives at Hungarian universities are hated by default. Turning this around is a hard task, and it's even harder to keep your motivation during the process.
Vice President
I'm listing this first, because this is where I have learned the most. Being a VP at our Students' Union meant that I had to be there for the President whenever he/she needed help, or especially when they needed to be substituted. I also had to manage the internal operations of the Union, managing officers, solving the problems of any Committee, helping representatives in their daily work – remember, SU representatives are doing everything while progressing with studies and working to have an income. It's understandable that many of us burn out. Now spice it up with the biggest public health disaster our modern society has ever seen, and you get dozens of representatives falling into depression, all the while 3000 students are losing hope of seeing a real life classroom or friend ever again, many of whom want to termite their university studies – or their lives! Now that is the point where you have to do something. The coronavirus was a challenge I was not ready for (none of us were, really), but today I can say, we won. The Students' Union is still standing, and the work continues with the new members being more motivated than ever, despite the fact that at some points we thought nobody will even run for seats.
Planning, overseeing, optimizing the internal operations of the SU.
Helping representatives, officers in tasks, mental health matters.
Solving conflicts inside the SU, smoothing out differences between representatives.
Working in Faculty and University councils; working with the Dean's office, the University Board, the ELTE SU.
Internal community management through events, games, fond memory videos, office christmas etc.
Mentoring
Mentoring has always been an activity I could not get tired of, mainly because I will never forget how afraid I was of university before my first semester; and it is not that fear that inspires me, but the calm that came when I got to know my team in the Freshmen Camp, when my seniors told tales of the university life, and when I found out that I will never be without help.
Each fall start the mentoring of 1-2 groups of 20-25 freshmen.
Participating in a weekly class where the mentor talks about different university topics in depth, so that the freshmen will gradually learn more and more about the university.
Creating a whole class schedule for a typical semester that other mentors took over as well.
Organizing teambuilding events for the group so that they feel welcome at the Faculty.
Drafting and sending e-mails with important chunks of information, either after group classes to structurize what we've talked about, or before important deadlines, like applying for financial support due to social situation, or informations about examination period and losing the state scholarship if not careful.