UPSU LGBT Society

Oli MacDonald, applying for Media Officer

Hi, my name is Oli McDonald, and I would like to run for the position of Media Officer.

I am currently studying in the second year of the BA Animation course, although this is only my first year at Portsmouth University, as I am a direct entry student. I joined the LGBT at the start of this year, and have had a great time and met a lot of friends. I would like to offer up my services as a part of our community for the final year of my course.

I have a real passion for animation, and it has taught me a lot of art skills, both traditional and digital, that I have used to create a range of different media, from figure drawing to character design sheets, photography to full length animations, and paintings to posters to promote my work for a design show. In addition to this, I have already contributed to the student community by producing channel ‘idents’ for the student TV station (think of the funny purple things on e4), and I was commissioned to create posters promoting Portsmouth Central Library, which you may have seen around campus. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my work, and once I get an idea, I like to see it right through to completion.

Teamwork is an essential part of animation, as collaboration can yield results which one person could never attain on their own. Working in groups has not only taught me the value of doing so, but also the best way to communicate with people and get the most out of them.

A strong technical ability with computers is necessary to do well on my course, as the majority of production is done digitally. I am well versed in a number of graphics editing packages, and have qualifications in ICT, Computing and Computer Networking, as well as having done a unit on website creation – all skills that would help me to maintain our website.

I feel I am a friendly and approachable person (if I do sometime end up talking in a constant stream) who has all the skills necessary to contribute further to the running of our society.

Seconding statement by Ian McGowan, Secretary

My name is Ian McGowan and I am the secretary of the LGBT. I am seconding Oli for the position of media officer because I feel that in the last year he has been an active member of the LGBT. I feel that he possess many key skills which would make him and ideal candidate for media officer. The strong ability and passion for animation and technical ability will be extremely valuable for the maintenance of the website and producing flyers and leaflets etc to adequately advertise the LGBT next year.

I also feel that Oli demonstrates the right kind of personality to be part of the LGBT committee. He is approachable, hard working and has demonstrated passion for the LGBT. The most important quality I feel is needed for a position on the committee is ability to work in a team. Oli has shown this through the group work which is needed for the course that he currently undertakes.

I am therefore seconding Oli for the position of media officer as I feel he is an ideal candidate.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rob Westbrook, applying for Media Officer

Hi, as most of you know, my name is Rob Westbrook and I'd like to apply for the position of Media Officer.

Being a first year, when I joined the LGBT at the Fresher's fair I didn't know anyone in the society at all. But everyone at the fair was welcoming and friendly and this continued when I went to my first Wednesday meeting. At that point I had never been particularly good at meeting new people, but the committee members did their best to make sure no-one was getting left out and everyone felt welcome.

As a bisexual there can be a lot of prejudice from both gay and straight people but whatever misgivings I may have had, the committee members were there to listen and offer good advice. Overall the LGBT has been a tremendous help in building my self-confidence and I've met a lot of fantastic people along the way. This is why I'd like to use my increased confidence in myself to give something back to the society and make new members next year feel as welcome as I did.

I'm applying to the Media Officer position since I feel that it offers me the best way to contribute to the society. I'm strongly passionate about art and design, but also have the technical knowledge needed to realise my ideas. I have extensive knowledge of using Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as other similar programs to produce promotional material. Likewise I can produce websites using raw HTML and CSS or using Dreamweaver, and I also have experience with JavaScript, which will be needed to keep the LGBT website up and running as well as making any changes or overhauls that are required. The position will also be good from the point of view of my university course, which is Video and Broadcasting. As well as my course giving me the training I need to fulfil the position of Media Officer, in a media-orientated course such as mine, any extra-curricular experience is essential in order to build up a good portfolio. Being able to help my society which has done so much to help me at the same time seems like an ideal situation to me.

As for my ideas on changes to the society I think the society definitely needs a new website, and to keep it more regularly updated. Keeping LGBT members informed of what is going on in their society is crucial. LGBT History Month was a good example of this; although the information given was good, the same level of information needs to be available for all the events concerning the society. What is said at the meetings regarding events should also be available on the website, the better to keep members informed of what is going on with their society. If I am elected as Media Officer, I will strive to bring these ideas to light. Chris has done a great job as this year's officer, and at the very least I will continue to be as enthusiastic and dedicated as he has been.

In closing, I aim to use my confidence that the society has given me to really try and give something back to the LGBT by bringing in some much needed updates on the media front.

Thank you for considering me for Media Officer.

Seconding Statement by Chris Gunner, Media Officer.

Having been the Media Officer for this year’s LGBT committee, I know and appreciate the level of technical skill and artistic insight that is required for the position. I believe that Rob is the ideal candidate for the position based on his afore-mentioned skills, which far outclass my own, and passion. He has also been a consistent and friendly member of our society, who I believe will be able to use his warm and funny personality to extend into other areas of the society.

Overall, a committee member of the LGBT society needs to be able to handle their appointed tasks effectively and with passion, but also has to be able to work alongside others and support the efforts and general aspirations of the committee. I wholly believe that Rob is the perfect candidate for this; his abilities will make him an excellent Media Officer, and his approachability, humour and dedication will make him a model committee member who will greatly benefit the society and its members.