Student Profiles
Salema Begum, Volunteering Executive Officer, 2008-2009, Politics – 3rd Year
“Volunteering was a chance for me to get involved in a cause that I really care about. That is why I volunteer with the READ Book project London East, under the charity READ International, at Queen Mary. This aims to improve access to education across the world. It was an opportunity to spend my time giving something back to the local community and Provide offered a plethora amount of placements where that was possible. I simply wanted to try something different.
The flexibility of Provide attracted me as I was able to commit as much or as little time as I could especially with the demands of my degree. I was able to fit volunteering in with my timetable quite comfortably as I knew that I could manage my responsibilities as a volunteer with the knowledge that it would not affect my degree.”
Araine Amado, Law – 1st Year, previously on International Foundation Programme
“Hello, I'm Ariane and I am an international student at Queen Mary University. I joined Provide, the volunteering programme at Queen Mary, three months ago because I wanted to help the local community through volunteering in Community Action Days. For example, I have cooked breakfast for homeless people, which was an amazing unforgettable experience. I have also stewarded at Sport Relief this year. You get to meet people from everywhere in every background and therefore, learn how to respect each other and feel useful. Provide and the Students ’ Union provide a large quantity of interesting events that you can do with friends or meet other people. In other words, I am really glad to be a volunteer!”
Arslan Saeed, Business and Management – 3rd Year
“Volunteering, for me, has got an element of morals and ethics to it. It’s the right thing to do. Planting trees, fundraising for charities, and aiding all those in need of help in the local area; who wouldn’t want to do it? And at Queen Mary, volunteering is perhaps the coolest way to socialise. You mingle with students from all backgrounds, get to visit places and you are representing Queen Mary. In my opinion, everyone can and should volunteer. It is really flexible, too. I have taken part in numerous Community Action Days over the last year, and I have also been involved in the Provide Student Volunteering Board, helping to organise and run Student Volunteering Week, reinforcing the fun experience that volunteering can be and hence getting more students to get involved.
I have found my experience with Provide both enriching and extremely rewarding.”