Lily-May Cameron
SU President and all round yes-girl.
"My mum went to university to do a psychology degree when I was 10, no one else in my family had gone to university. So I grew up in that environment, I went to lectures with her sometimes and went to the labs. Her research was around evolutionary psychology and deer so I used to go to Richmond Park with her and help her with her studies, counting deer mating populations! I was always quite involved. She really wanted me to go to uni at the right time, as she didn’t go until later in life.
“My mum sparked my interest in politics too. She’s such a socialist so politics was always around me growing up; I was at school while Brexit and Corbyn’s rallies were in the news and I always found it interesting. I grew up in London which is so culturally diverse so I’ve always been aware of issues for other communities. My mum worked in a lot of charities too so I’ve always had a social and political awareness and a real interest in social mobility and social policy which led me to politics and international relations.
“When I was looking at universities, study abroad options were really important to me. The study abroad options at Essex are a lot greater than a lot of other uni’s so it became a pretty easy choice! I also loved the campus vibe of Essex – uni’s I’d looked at in London are spread across the city so I loved how tightknit the community felt here. I still remember the study abroad talk in school, I was about 15 but I knew straight away that I wanted to do it.
“I did a year abroad at Luiss University in Rome, Italy and I just loved it! Choosing Rome was a happy accident actually. I wanted to go to Barcelona, I was set on it. I did all the research, I had Google Maps covered in pins of all the places I wanted to go, I even used the Languages for All scheme at Essex to learn Spanish. Then when I came to apply I hadn’t realised that you have 5 options, I thought you have just one. So I suddenly had to research other places and stumbled upon Luiss University in North Rome and I just fell in love.
“I’m so glad I found Luiss. It was so beautiful; they have UNESCO protected campuses with stunning architecture and interiors. I also found their Erasmus society was really good and looked after you. They organized all these trips to stunning little villages that you’d never see otherwise. You could just feel the community there was so strong and it really was.
“Living in Rome for a year was so exciting. I lived in a private apartment with 8 other students. Some were Italian, others were also exchange students, everyone was from different uni’s. There was even a student pilot! We became a bit of an Erasmus party flat. It was a pretty small place but we’d have parties with 50 people – our poor neighbours! It was a really cool and fun time, for sure.
“My year abroad was such an amazing opportunity but it also really helped me grow as a person. The thing is you have to be confident, you don’t have a choice, especially in a city like Rome. If you’re not confident you would just blend into the background so I just had to go for it. I would just pretend I was confident to the people around me until it became real. My confidence just completely changed, and my independence grew so much too. I had to go through the visa process on my own, fly out on my own and live in a foreign country on my own!
“The confidence my time in Rome gave me really helped me when I got back to Essex. Before my year abroad I wasn’t very confident, I was only friends with the people I lived with, I wasn’t ready to join societies, I was quite nervous. But I came back a lot more confident and had seen stuff on social media about the Music Society at Essex and it looked so fun. I don’t play any instruments but I really love music. I especially love live music and finding new artists. My family are very musical so when I came back from Italy I went to a Music Society event and it was such a nice community. You don’t have to be a musician, you can just be a spectator. It was the society I really felt I belonged in.
“I volunteered for the SU as a Student Trustee too. The Trustee Board basically governs the Students’ Union checking what the directors are doing, ensuring we are complying with the law and good financial stability etc. That gave me a really good grounding for when I later became SU President. I also got a position as a Communications Intern with the Essex Abroad team. That involved dealing with newsletters, social media, collecting content, driving up engagement within the year abroad scheme. After my study abroad experience was so good I just wanted to pay it back.
“Now an Essex graduate I am currently the SU President which is super exciting and no two days are the same. During Freshers Fair I’m out in the Squares every day at mixers, on the welcome hub, doing welcome talks and helping students find their way. Then other days it’s about committees within the uni like Council or Senate working with the Senior Leadership Team across the university, I’m even on the panel to recruit our next Vice-Chancellor. The impact the SU has is really growing. Because we have really good relationships with the University’s Senior Team we have a really good level of influence for our students. Senior staff aren’t on the ground like we are – we have the data, the stories and the real feedback. This changes how education at Essex is delivered and how things are being done even beyond education. We have influence over everything for our students; accommodation, wellbeing and student services too.
“I wouldn’t change anything about my time at Essex because it’s been such a journey. When my term as SU President finishes I’ll be moving back to London but I’m not sure what I want to do next; something in marketing, PR, government, I don’t know? I’ve always made sure I have lots of different experiences so I don’t get stuck in one route, I want to be flexible, in 10 years’ time I want to be doing a job I was never expecting.
“My biggest piece of advice would be just get involved. Everyone is new, imposter syndrome is real. Most people are trying this all out for the first time so just get involved. Go to taster sessions of societies, they’re so low barrier just go and even if you don’t stick at it you’ll meet someone new! Get involved with the behind the scenes of the democracy of the university too – become a student rep, run for council, become a student leader or a student community officer – just get involved!"
Liv's story
“I realised there was a gap in content for aspiring PhD students. I started sharing my experiences on Instagram and TikTok, which grew into a following of 600k.”
Pebbles' story
"I never really cared about being famous, but it seems that it’s just my destiny."
Michael's story
"Now in my third year, I’m currently on placement as a Global HR Intern at Disney in London."