An exhilarating campaign journey came to a spectacular end on Friday, March 7th. Staff, students and student media alike gathered in the Learning Zone to learn which candidates had been elected to a Full-Time Officer role.
Even before the results were announced, we had news to celebrate. This year there were a record 4,491 voters, an increase of 24 students from last year’s 4,467. As a result, next year 225 trees will be planted by LUSU green for their Trees for Votes campaign.
Yay!
I, for one, love Mother Nature. Her and I are like this 🫶🏾.
Now, without further ado, the results.
The results
Emily Woods was duly elected LUSU Activities Officer for 2025-26, earning 51% of the vote on the final round.
Rory O’Ceallaigh was duly elected LUSU President for 2025-26, also receiving 51% of the vote during the final round.
Leah Buttery was duly elected LUSU Wellbeing Officer for 2025-26, garnering 68% of the vote on the first round.
And Niamh McAuley was duly elected LUSU Education Officer for 2025-26, generating 77% of the vote during the first round.
Speaking of Niamh, I had the pleasure of interviewing her off the heels of her win. But before we get into that, you may be asking what being LUSU Education Officer actually means.
What does the Education Officer role entail?
Great question! I’m so glad you asked. The Education Officer is the lead student representative on academic and related issues concerning the development of the Undergraduate, Postgraduate Taught (“PGT”) and Postgraduate Research experience to the University. By focusing on education policy development and implementation, quality assurance and enhancement, learning support, resources and future academic strategy, they tackle inequality within academia.
It is imperative they understand the academic structural differences between PGT and PGR students and the issues they face, which are different to those of Undergraduates. The Education Officer facilitates and supports the work of Academic Representatives, acting as the lead officer for the recruitment, training, development and promotion of Academic Representatives (including Lead and Faculty Representatives).
Now time for the questions!
What was the best and most challenging part of your campaign?
For Niamh, the best part of her campaign was “seeing all the support” she received from the Lancaster University community online and in-person. She found the experience to be “really amazing” and stated it was “kind of overwhelming to see how many people were behind me.” Additionally, she really enjoyed the Candidate Questions as it gave her an opportunity to tell people about her campaign, motivations and past leadership experience.
On the other hand, she found “postering” to be a bit of a hassle. “The sticky tape [was] eco-friendly, and it didn’t really want to stick.” Apart from that, she didn’t feel like there was anything particularly “hard” about this campaign, only “nerve-wracking”.
What do you believe are the key factors that contributed to your win?
She credited her “strong [student and experience focused] manifesto” to her victory. It was paramount that “these are changes and benefits that are going to be implemented and are going to [positively impact] student experience.”
Moreover, she recognised that her experience as a Faculty Representative lent itself really well to this position.
“The next step up is Education Officer.”
Was there a specific moment that inspired you to run for Education Officer?
Taking time to internalise the question and hitting me with the “Ooh”, she eventually spotlighted being elected Faculty Rep as a big turning point.
“I can take this [on] and not just benefit people in FASS but everyone [in the] university.”
Is there a political or social figure you found yourself returning to for motivation during your campaign?
She found inspiration, guidance and support in her friends and family rather than any political or social figure. Even though this campaign was incredibly important to her, it was also equally important “that I was taken care of [too]”.
What are you most looking forward to during your time as LUSU Education Officer?
“Oh my God! Just hearing you say that is insane. I don’t think it’s really sank in,” she beamed with joy, effervescent and earnest.
Some brief moments later she revealed that she is looking forward to implementing necessary changes and “working with her team”.
Is there anyone you didn’t get to thank in your acceptance speech that you’d like to thank now?
She thanked “Korfball, Grizedale Netball and anyone who has reshared [my material]” for being a massive part of her campaign. She also spotlighted the outpouring of encouragement she’s received from her “best mates” and “lovely boyfriend”.
“It’s been amazing to see so many people believe in me and my message.”
Do you have any advice for people hoping to run for FTO positions next year?
Like Nike, Niamh said FTO hopefuls should just “Do it!”.
“When I joined this Uni, I had no idea I was going to run for this at all.”
She continued by stressing the importance of seizing those unpredictable leadership opportunities. Even though the week of campaigning appeared full on, she’d actually had “a really relaxed week”.
“You can do it! The campaigning and meeting the other candidates has been so fun. I’d recommend it to anyone.”
To find out more about Niamh’s goals and objectives as Education Officer, you can read her full manifesto here: Candidate_Manifestos_LUSU_Elections_2025.pdf
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