News

Sukhjeen Kaur’s Experience as Student Trustee

16th December 2024

I joined the Inclusion Barnet Community Organisation Support team in October 2023. Currently, I am a Member Development Officer (Faith groups).

Previously I had done a trusteeship role in my final year of university and I just wanted to share some of the ways that I came across this role…

How I became a Trustee

Why I really do encourage others – especially university students and young people – to be doing these roles, is because it is very, very beneficial in the long run! One of the ways I came around it was I was advocating for disability rights: benefit claims, different kinds of things around what the social model was.

I was at the university of Derby at the time, and they had a charity CEO that had come across some of my work. We were able to understand that a  lot of my expertise as a young person would  actually be really beneficial: especially what the community was doing on a university scale:

• What the university were talking about on a regular basis
• What the students are wanting
• What the staff were talking about

Also, there were quite a few degrees and studies that were going on that actually involved disability as a whole as well: but weren’t actually aware of what the charity work was being done in the area – so there was a big gap between the two. Upon discovering this, I actually developed that relationship with the CEO to think; “how can we work on that further”? That conversation ended-up with me being mentored into a role of trustee.

The reason I was mentored was because… I had no, absolutely no knowledge on charities! Or what a trustee even was for a while… But I did recognize that I did have a skill in recognising what young people were talking about, with very strong knowledge on disability advocacy.

I did quite a bit of work in my spare time on equality, diversity and inclusion: an intersectional approach of also being a South Asian woman and having to navigate the cultural aspects of things. There were quite a few elements of how they could diversify the people that they were able to support.

The disability does not discriminate: it can affect anyone.

That was the very much the philosophy that they were going by, and what they wanted to establish.

What is it like being a Trustee?

As was rightly said before: quite admin heavy stuff! They had so many different kinds of branches so they ended up being like a good two hours in the evening. Even though that can seem a bit lengthy at the time, it’s just two hours a month… It didn’t really impact my studies – it actually was more beneficial than anything.

I wasn’t very confident in the financial aspects of things, so to be mentored into the role and, being nurtured in that way and actually getting help from the other people and what they had gone through:

How they developed their skill set, to actually be able to be a bit more confident in their role, how they came across the charity, why they were doing it.

All of those experiences really helped me understand how that community element is needed on that higher level. I really realised how beneficial that was for me to know how charity worked. And also how I can  add my experience into things – It was like a mutual relationship we have with each other. They did respect me, as a young person, that felt really, really welcoming.

It gave me a lot of transferable skills. So, I’m  a member development officer: I actually support other grassroot organisations  to be able to find funding grants – to find ones that support that their work and their needs. As well as venues.

These things that I learned from that trustee role,  I can now transfer on to other grassroots organisations as well. Which honestly wasn’t the thing that I was thinking that I was ever going to get from it… It just so happened to be that way!

But those skills were so beneficial for me to actually be able to put into my career. Now I’m just constantly having amazing conversations with the organization and amazing things that we’re able to do with the knowledge that I can give them (and they’re still giving me). I’m still learning from that.

Where to Start (and Start Again!)

Unfortunately, because that that trustee role was very site specific; I’ve since moved out of the area and was no longer able to stay as a trustee, but I am actually trying again because I don’t think it’s, something that I can give up. It’s beneficial for me. And I think,  even though it helped me bridge that gap between university to career; it also has helped me develop the career I’ve been in  as well. So it’s definitely not something that I’ve left… The only thing I really wish I knew, was to do it earlier in my degree!

So if you are maybe first year, second year; just start looking now! You can definitely volunteer and it is a really good useful resource – I wish I had that at university. So please do talk to them. But if you’re not sure (or you’re not into the student union vibe), research into an area; because charity is so broad. There is a bunch of charities out there that you could actually be supporting, as well as them supporting you!