and why you should get involved too!

About me

I'm Emelia - a Film, Photography & Media student. I just finished my second year at the University of Leeds and I'm currently completing a placement year at Residence Life.

I was a Marketing Representative for White Rose View during 2045-2025, and being in the RLSC was such an amazing experience that I'd like to share!

Why did you join the RLSC?

I wanted to gain more marketing and event planning experience. I knew this experience would allow me to gain transferable skills for my future career in marketing.

I loved the idea of being able to plan and execute events in a team - the creative freedom felt amazing!! After moving to university knowing nobody, I felt that joining the committee would help me create lifelong connections - which it absolutely did! Not only with my committee, but getting to know residents from different backgrounds was lovely.

What was the role like day-to-day?

As a Marketing Rep, a typical day included checking our Instagram account for any queries from residents or other social committees, if we had an upcoming event I'd spend some time on Canva designing an Instagram post, and copywriting for the post description. I'd also make sign up forms online for each event and distribute these.

I'd create physical posters too, print these, and put them up around our halls to promote our event. We'd aim to meet as a team each week, and during our meetings we'd plan events and catch up with what each member was working on. During events I'd assist with the general organisation of the event, and take photos for our Instagram page.

What was your favourite part of the RLSC?

I loved seeing the events we planned eventually come to life! We were managing and directing students during events, but we were also able to enjoy the events ourselves. Some of my favourite events included our Spring Ball at the end of the year, our henna workshop, and lastly a joint event with Montague Burton, a parkrun breakfast.

Have you picked up any unexpected skills along the way?

Although I have strengthened my marketing and photography skills, I have also gained insights into the less appreciated aspects of event planning, such as completing risk assessments, itineraris, and event evaluations. These skills will undoubtedly be useful in the future - and are helping me in my current role!

Has the role changed how you feel about leadership/teamwork?

Everyone in your committee has their own interests, so don't be afraid to take the lead for some events. I love running & parkrun, so I took the lead for the Parkrun Breakfast event, along with the president of Montague Burton. My time in the social committee made me truly appreciate how vital communication is when working in a team!

What do you wish you knew before you started?

• It's okay to ask your team for help if you're struggling to meet a deadline
• Using a canva template you've made and changing the text/images each time will save you so much time and create a consistent style across your Instagram page
• QR codes on posters are a must & don't forget to use the ResLife logo on every poster
• Don't overlook the power of Instagram reels - so many residents told us they heard about our events from our reels
• Take photos at every event (after asking for consent from attendees) - sharing these on your Instagram will show people the atmosphere at your events and encourage them to join
• Mass communications notifying all residents of an event are extremely helpful - we used mailing lists and our Unite accommodation group chat
• Don't be afraid to doorknock (after asking your reception team) - we had to meet a minimum number of sign-ups for our Spring Ball and we achieved this by knocking on every door of our accommodation (yes....all 26 floors)

Do you have any advice for future committees?

Do low effort events throughout the year: Events take a lot of planning and organisation, but if you have an event you run every month/other month, you can make sure you slowly chip away at your budget. This is a great idea for accomodations who have a larger amount of RLSC funds.

Plan in advance: Being a uni student is your first priority, and understandably things can become busy quite quickly. Plan your events weeks in advance, get your risk assessments and documents handed in long before the event, and schedule your marketing posts in advance.

Shared calendars: Syncing everyone's busy calendars proved to be impossible when scheduling events and weekly meetings. We used a shared calendar app, TimeTree, to sync our calendars and plan these.

Use your leftover budget: When your time in the RLSC ends in the summer, you'll be left with a pot of money leftover to use. Although you may not be living in your accommodation the year after, it's nice to leave something for the next committee/cohort of residents. You could purchase games, a vending machine, a water fountain, a mini fridge, arcade machienes, DVDs, books, and so much more!

Instagram Stories: Use Instagram polls to ask what events your residents want to see, and use stickers to ask which day they're more likely to come on - depending on your committee's availability. Use question stickers to gain feedback from events - one piece of feedback from one of our events asked us to cater to more vegan options in our next event, so we ensured this was the case!

Don't stick to what you know: Being in the RLSC gives you so much creative freedom, grasp the opportunity to experiment with new ideas. I originally began by only creating Instagram posts, however began making reels in semester two, and found these gained a lot more attention and interaction. We used reels for promoting our events and showing videos from our events. 

My experience in the RLSC is one I'll never forget - I've made lifelong friends, memories, and gained so many transferable skills & experience. If you are considering applying, I greatly urge you to!!

Apply to join the RLSC: