Hello, we hope you’ve all had a lovely freshers week and start to the new semester! Welcome to our October blog post on how to get involved with charities and altruistic activities as a student. We’ve picked out few opportunities and spoken to some society and committee members here at UEA, about what their societies’ are about and how you can become a part of them. Whilst these societies are active at UEA, there will be some very similar (if not the same!) opportunities available for Pharmacy students studying at other universities too. Read on to find out more...
Pharmacy Society
The Pharmacy society runs many events, and not just socials! In the past they’ve ran workshops and invited speakers to present interesting talks among other activities. By joining and becoming a member, you’ll be able to: meet and work with Pharmacy students in other years, learn and progress your knowledge outside of the course, and potentially volunteer to help organise their events or help out on the day. We spoke with the President of UEA’s Pharmacy Society, Izzy Lowings, to find out more about what they have planned this semester that you can take part in. Here are a few of their upcoming events!
White T-Shirt Social
An exclusive talk from Rebecca Bloor, a Kiwi Pharmacist who is now the Interim Head of Content at Pharmaceutical Press
A talk from Dr Sarah Goffin, the Medical Liaison Officer for Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, who will be discussing her personal journey to a career in industry
Laser Tag Social- Pharmacy vs Chemistry face off
GSK Cold & Flu Workshop by Linda Perry
St John Ambulance Society (LINKS)
Here at UEA we have our own St John Ambulance society and unit, which provides all the first aid cover for student club nights, as well as external first aid cover for football matches, gigs, and events run in the city centre. Joining the society offers you the opportunity to learn some first aid, and volunteer at events, allowing you to practice your skills in real life situations and make a difference. One of the committee members, Annie Glover, had a few things to say about it...
‘At UEA LINKS, we train our members in first aid and give them the opportunity to use their new skills at events as far and wide as Notting Hill Carnival and Creamfields, as well as right here at UEA with every LCR club night and gig. Our key vision is that nobody should suffer for lack of people trained in first aid, and so we try to reach out as much as possible to the student body to teach truly useful manoeuvres such as the recovery position. Having just celebrated our 21st birthday as a society, we have a great history behind us, and always strive towards the next achievement together.’
Their meetings are held every Monday at 7pm in Congregation Hall, and you can follow their Facebook group for more information!
Pharmacist Support
This charity provides financial, emotional and wellbeing aid to pharmacists, pharmacy students, retired pharmacists and their families, and offers a helpline with people who can listen and give advice. It’s the only charity supporting out future profession. Pharmacist Support has teams of Student Ambassadors present at most universities and are always looking to sign up more volunteers to represent the organisation, fundraise and raise awareness in students about what they do. All the information about how to apply is available on the Pharmacist Support website, and getting in contact with Emma Peate is an incredibly easy way to get involved with the charity. Currently at UEA, I (Amelia Ellis) am the only Student Ambassador, and I am happy to answer any questions from interested students.
Buddy(SU)
Similarly to many other universities, the students union at UEA run a Buddy(SU) project, which pairs UEA students in their first year with Buddy Volunteers in the years above. This matching is based on common interests, not degree course or gender, and occurs during the first semester of every year. Applications to become a Buddy Volunteer open around June on the SU website and training usually occurs between August and September. This year Buddy(SU) has more than 100 Buddy Volunteers, all tasked with introducing their new student to the university campus and Norfolk area, supporting them in making new friends, and checking up on them during the first term. This is what Buddy Volunteer Louise Staples had to say about joining the project this year...
‘I became a buddy because I remember coming to UEA and finding it really daunting. Fortunately, I had a couple of friends from home if it all went wrong, but not everyone does! Being a buddy volunteer allows you to help a first year makes new friends, which can make the transition from home to student life a lot easier. It's only for a semester and your buddy may not even require that much support; you have nothing to lose!’
Keep an eye out for our next blog post (coming November!) and keep following our Instagram and Twitter accounts (@altpharmcareers) for regular updates on this year's APC Conference!
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