Sophie Empson is running for Grizedale Democracy and Finance Officer. Sophie has previously worked closely with the JCR on the intro week committee and feels that studying a degree in International Management will aid her in the mathematical side of this position. She has worked in several places that have involved handling money, including waitressing and at a campsite where she was responsible for handling the finances at times. Sophie was partially educated in France and is used to taking detailed notes and minutes for meetings. She has the equivalent of a maths A level and is taking an accounting and finance module in her next year, which will give her more experience for the role.
Her priorities are to help the freshers fully understand where their college fees are going, as they are often simply paid and forgotten about. Along with this, she would promote the Michaelmas term elections, and ensure that everyone fully understands the process and how to put themselves forward for roles.
She would like people to know more about the workings of the JCR, and would utilise Freshers week to promote the JCR and ensure that freshers know how it works and where people should go if they have any problems.
Sophie’s main point she would like to emphasise in her manifesto would be to help people understand how and where college fees are being spent, as it hasn’t been touched upon in detail before.
The possibility of the university working remotely for the next academic year might make her role easier, as if meetings are recorded she can make sure that the notes are perfect. She is used to working online as she has completed several online courses this term. If the university did work remotely for the next year, she would like to make sure that students knew what resources were there for them, and that students were engaged with social media so they were kept up to date on different events and updates.
In the event that there were financial difficulties for Grizedale due to the Coronavirus crisis, Sophie would prioritise events for the students, and would make sure that they were comfortable. If finances for the college were tight, she would prioritise transparency for exactly where the funds were going and what they were being spent on.
When asked how she would ensure that Grizedale had a high turnout for the JCR elections, Sophie stated that as last year the college had the highest voter turnout in last year’s Michaelmas term elections, she would utilise social media channels and the resources used in last years elections, as well as ensuring that everyone was aware of the elections and it was consistently promoted in the weeks leading up to the election.
As Sophie has a lot of experience in handling money and tracking finance, combined with the finance training she would gain if she were elected for this position, she feels this combination will help her immensely. She has a strong background in maths and working with the JCR which will aid her in this role. She is also setting up her own cupcake business!
