Getting Involved with the Warwick Community

Community- a group of people living in the same place; a group of people who share something in common; a group that many of you are probably looking to be involved with once you start university life.

But how does one actually go about doing this? Of course you can join the Warwick community simply by attending university here, but what if I told you that there’s more that you can get involved with? I’m here today to tell you all about my personal experiences regarding getting involved with the Warwick community on a deeper level!

I’ll start off by telling you about the numerous societies and programmes at Warwick that I have been a part of over the past two years: firstly I’ll expand on some of my experiences in my first year, the most memorable to me being joining the International and European Law society (IELS), taking part in Warwick SPRINT, and being a part of Warwick Scholars! IELS held numerous events over the year, including academic, professional, and social events- my favourite event was the mentoring meal held by the society, which introduced me to my mentor and allowed me to have a great meal at the Canopy on campus! Being a part of this mentoring meal provided me with friends across year groups, advice from students a year wiser than myself, and even encouraged me to enjoy social activities such as bowling with others from the society! Similarly, Warwick Scholars gave me the opportunity to interact and make friends with others from a similar background to me, whilst Warwick SPRINT made me part of a female support system that was very empowering!

As indicated above (hopefully), getting involved with societies and programmes at Warwick can really help to make you feel part of several smaller communities, and in my personal experience university life is the most enjoyable when you are actively involved in a number of these! Since I enjoyed being involved with these communities in my first year so much, I stood in elections to become a member of the executive committee for both IELS and the Warwick Disney Society in my second year. Currently, I am the President of the Warwick Disney Society and also the Charities and Welfare Officer for IELS!

I have enjoyed being involved in these societies on a much deeper level than last year and I have gained many valuable skills and experiences by doing so as well; organising charity weeks, games nights, quiz nights, professional law events, and setting up the mentoring scheme for IELS are just a few of the things that I have been involved with this year! As you can probably tell, I have been very busy but I have also had a lot of fun- being stuck at home during lockdown leaves most people with nothing to do socially, but fortunately for me I have been actively involved with my societies’ communities over these past few months and as a result I have actually managed to make friends virtually, as well as enjoy events such as karaoke, playing Among Us with my society, or even battling it out over a Disney Quiz night to see who has the most Disney Knowledge! So I have been able to enjoy my time in lockdown more than many of my friends who have been less involved with societies and smaller communities at Warwick.

What I have hopefully demonstrated here is that joining societies and programmes will enable you to be part of many smaller communities within the wider Warwick community. Having spoken to many friends (both those who have been more involved with societies and those who have been less involved), I have concluded that to enjoy university life more, getting involved with smaller communities is the fastest and most interesting way. Hopefully I have encouraged some of you to explore and get involved with societies and programmes at Warwick once you start your university life!

As always, if you would like to ask me anything about my experiences and opinions please feel free to get in touch!