Every month, we highlight the great work of some of our student volunteers.
This month, we spoke to Raul Tristao and his experience as a student volunteer at LMSU.

Hi everyone, 

In a University where that are many incredible individuals doing incredible things, it is truly an honour to be considered for the volunteer spotlight.

I am Raul, a second-year BSc Psychology student who holds the volunteer position at London Met as the President of Amnesty International Society. I started in the foundation year, and London Met gave me the opportunity to start my education after being away from formal education for so long, especially being a mature student as much of the student body in the university. Volunteering gives me a sense of giving back to the institution that allowed me this opportunity. 

As an international student, being able to bring a community that has common interests together – whilst providing a platform for change within the university based on the human rights we support and advocate for – is invaluable. However, this would not be possible without the fantastic support of the Students’ Union. I had no experience in running or being part of a society before, and creating one from scratch would have not been possible without the support I had. 

Volunteering is a great opportunity to get more involved with the university, other students, and the Students’ Union; it is also an incredible opportunity to develop skills such as leadership, organisational, time management, project management, teamwork, outreach, and many others. And I guess best of all, it also allowed me to meet some incredible individuals I today have the honour to call friends. 

Our society brought external speakers, advocated for change in the university, partnered with different societies to bring events such as monthly debates on Human Rights, and organised socials to bring everyone together. We are already organising to hold a film screening at the beginning of next year that will also fundraise for a charity. 

If you’d like to join a Human Rights movement and make a difference in the University and our community, joins us here for free. 

Thank you,

Raul :)