Nat Dalkiewicz

Vice-President 2023/24

Nat Dalkiewicz

Proposer: Indiana Williams

Seconder: Kai Wright

What are your objectives for your year in office?

I want to bring back and elevate your student experience, while looking after you, and your pockets. Provide opportunities to build our sense of community within the university, but also within the city. Bringing NUASU back to full works, and making sure you get the best support possible. How do I do that?

A year of regular events and campaigns, making Freshers, the Winter Party, Summer Ball, and everything in between the norm again, and something you look forward to. This includes awareness days, weeks, and months celebrated together, planned alongside the Liberation Officers.

Provide opportunities for you within and alongside the Union, building our sense of community. This includes a public art market of student work, creative projects, and proposing visual improvements in Beechcroft to be completed with students.

Implementing student jobs within the Union.

More involvement of the MA courses within the Union, including a specific end of year MA Social.

Continue to work with Student Support to assess disability and mental health support provisions from the university, and work towards more students being able to access the support they need.

Continue to support you through the Cost of Living, looking out for your wellbeing, and your pocket.

Continue to listen to what you want, by bringing back ‘Have Your Say Days’ and better engaging with students – making the Union work for you.

What skills and experience do you bring to the role that make you the best candidate?

I still have the same values and beliefs as I did when I was running in the elections a year ago. I’m still an activist and campaigner at heart, unafraid to speak up. I still hold the experience of being invested in a range of areas within the university before my role as Vice President. But now I also come with an extra year of being fully invested within the Union, more than I ever have before.

I have completed my previous manifesto, established connections with UEA(SU), have sat on committees, working groups, and been a familiar face to staff and students around the university.

Last year I told you I knew NUASU like the back of my hand, this year I can tell you I know it even better. I know what I’m doing, and I’m ready to knuckle down and carry on.

What is the main change you want to see at NUA and/or NUA SU?

There should be a lot more doing when it comes to inclusion, equity, and diversity from the university. With the current minimal number of EDI committee meetings, and the lack of student representation on these, I propose NUASU creates it’s own EDI committee to streamline the student feedback to the university, and be able to feed this information back more regularly. There’s also an opportunity here to create more Liberation Officer roles, to hear more from marginalised groups.

I want NUASU to be more inviting to students, through its branding, location, look, and feel. With this in mind, I want more students to be engaged within in the Union and be aware of what it does, right from the start of their studies.

Manifesto

What policies would you deliver if you became Students’ Union Vice President?

Other than what I have already outlined, I would implement:

An official link between societies at UEA(SU) and NUASU

An inclusive ‘leaving university’ programme to prepare soon to be graduates for renting, knowing their employment rights, post uni life skills 101.

Rolling out student jobs within the Union to help with events, but also specific paid creative project opportunities

Regular wellbeing initiatives ranging from the workshops, to Pets as Therapy and Wellbeing Donkeys to free resources, building on the existing Wellbeing Workshops started in 2022.

What would you want to be remembered for after you completed your year as Vice President?

I want to be remembered for bringing the Union back to full speed since Covid, and making it an exciting and inviting place for everyone. Providing more opportunities for students both inside and outside their creative field and being someone that listened to students and did their absolute best to get them what they needed.

There is so much work to be done, and I want to be remembered for leaving the Union in a better place than I found it, not only for the organisation and the officers, but for the students who make the union what it is.