Candidate for the position of Vice President (Student Needs)

Image for Daria Tomaszewska

Daria Tomaszewska

Stronger Together Every Student Matters- Every Voice Heard, Every Journey Supported, Every Future Empowered.

🧠 Learn a little about me
My name is Daria, and I am studying BA (Hons) Business Management at Arden University. During my university career, I was actively involved in various projects that encompassed diversity, inclusiveness, wellbeing, culture and students’ engagement in general. It made me understand the requirements of students and allowed me to create my enthusiasm for making sure that everyone is recognised and appreciated.

Being a Peer Mentor and Student Representative, I assisted many people of different origins. Among my greatest achievements, I should point out receiving the Positive Peer Mentor Award and staying friends with many of my mentees long after the programme ended. Having some experience in the adaptation process in a foreign university, especially speaking about those who have to study in English, I know how hard this period can be.

I learned one very important lesson in life: everything can be achieved if you receive proper support.
My inspiration for becoming Vice President of Students’ Needs is the idea that I know how important is to that every student deserves to be supported, appreciated, represented and included in the university community. I'm passionate about helping others and making them happy.

As a Peer Mentor and Student Rep, I have come across many issues that students have in trying to balance their education, jobs, family and life in general. Some students may just not realise what is available to them.
I would like to help make sure that students are able to get enough knowledge, communicate with one another and be heard on things that interest them. I’ve been through all of these things myself, so I know how important support and representation are.

If I am elected, I will listen, represent and work for the students. Every move I made would be driven by one idea: prioritising students and helping them succeed.
🔢 What I pledge to do if elected
BUILDING A FLEXIBLE AND CONNECTED EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENTS

The students at Arden University balance their studies alongside jobs, shift work, childcare, caring responsibilities, and other commitments, which can sometimes make it difficult to attend scheduled sessions.

I will explore using the UniBuddy platform to form a group where the students can communicate with other students who may have issues with attending classes, share experiences, and help each other in handling their studies, all within the university’s regulations.

My idea is not only to make students’ lives easier but also to ensure full compliance with university policy and procedures.

Alongside helping students connect and communicate, I want to encourage them to be active participants in the life of the university community.

In doing this, I aim to build an inclusive university community that represents all its students.
INCREASE AWARENESS OF STUDENT NEEDS

The provision of support services would not have any impact unless students were aware of such services.
A lot of students fail to be aware of various services that would assist them in succeeding both academically and personally within the university setting. For some students, they may be aware of such services after failing or experiencing difficulties.

If elected, I would try to ensure that all students at Arden University have enough awareness regarding such student support services. I would seek to ensure that there was adequate communication in regard to available services.

Nobody should struggle due to being unaware of the services that are supposed to be helpful to them.
LET STUDENT VOICES BE THE FOCUS OF CHANGE

Being the Vice President of Student Needs, I am going to pay much attention to student voices and make sure that the issues raised by the students are considered properly.

Representation does not just mean taking into account suggestions and concerns of the students; rather, it implies implementing changes that will improve the student experience.

It is important to work together with students, their representatives, peer mentors, and the Students' Association to determine what problems there are and how we could make life better for students at Arden University.

The main goal of my initiative is to give a voice to every single student and provide them with the proper support that they need.

Every one of our students needs to be represented and have their voices heard.
🗳 Have I earned your vote
I strongly believe that I have the ability to become a good Student Leader since I truly love students and their success.

Being both a Peer Mentor and Student Representative, I have built my abilities of effective communication, active listening, problem solving and advocacy. I have been working with students, guiding them towards getting resources and being heard.

I consider myself to be an approachable, reliable and passionate person. Being involved in events related to diversity, culture, inclusivity and wellbeing gave me an insight into diverse student experiences and problems.
Having personally experienced entering the university unsure about the situation and being not a native speaker, I understand how challenging this process could be and how important it is for a person to have assistance.

In my opinion, a good leader should be a good listener. As a Student Leader, I will definitely listen to people first before acting honestly and putting them first.
In my opinion, the most important problem that confronts the students at Arden University is finding the balance between academic studies and other responsibilities, such as work, family, financial worries, and personal engagements.

The fact is that there are many non-traditional students at Arden University. These students work, look after children and elderly relatives, and study. It may cause problems of stress, alienation, lack of interest, and inability to ask for help.

Students who are not native speakers of English can face additional problems in terms of self-confidence, adaptation to the university standards, and willingness to seek help.

When there are so many responsibilities that a student faces, even minor hindrances can become quite critical.
What we need in order to help these students is a more flexible approach, better communication with them, increased awareness of all kinds of available resources, and possibilities for contact with each other.

If we hear students' voices and provide appropriate measures, we will build an atmosphere that promotes their well-being, inclusion, respect, and motivation to reach their goals.

Together, we can build a very strong, more connected Arden community where every student has the opportunity to thrive.