Our President, Scarlet James, is on our Board of Trustees. We asked her to share her thoughts on this role, and why student involvement in our trustee work is so important.
You can watch her reflections below – we've put a transcript underneath the video.
Hi – I'm Scarlet, President of the Open SU, which is your student union. One of the other roles I have is to be a trustee.
What do I do as a trustee?
As a trustee, I work with the rest of the Board to help shape Open SU's future. We look at priorities, finances and plans, and ask questions and make decisions about how the organisation can best serve students. And what matters to me is thinking about the people who decisions these affect.
I'm a student, a mum, and someone who's balancing studies with disabilities as well as a lot of other responsibilities – and those experiences influence the questions I ask, alongside what I hear from other students.
You don't need to arrive knowing everything. Being willing to listen, learn, and ask questions is a really valuable starting point.
Why do we need trustees at Open SU?
Students deserve a union that's well run, accountable, and able to support them in the future. Trustees help make that happen. Having students on the Board brings that experience of studying with the OU directly into those conversations, and we know how much it can take to fit around everything else in life. Our student community is incredibly varied, and we need different perspectives to help us make thoughtful decisions.
Your experiences could help the Board notice a barrier, question and assumption, or consider something differently.
Why is student involvement so important, and why should someone consider becoming a trustee?
For me, being a student trustee is an opportunity to turn caring about the student experience into something more practical. You have a say in decisions that affect the whole organisation and the students it supports.
My own journey through volunteering and representation has shown me how much you can contribute through listening, being curious and speaking up – even when you're still building your confidence.
If you care about other students and want to help shape Open SU's future, I'd really encourage you to find out more. You'd bring your own perspective – developing new skills – and work with people who have different experiences to share.
You don't have to follow a particular path to have something valuable to offer.