Alex is a second year history student, social sec of the Exeter Welsh Society, the largest Welsh Society in the country, an Xpression FM presenter and all round nice guy! Her Campus was pretty excited to catch up with this BNOC…
Hi Alex! How are you? Busy day?
Hiya – I’m great thanks! Been quite a busy day… I’ve spent the afternoon in the studio preparing my show for Sunday. I’ve also made some presentation notes and final prepartion for Welsh Soc tour!
Wow – that’s a lot to be getting on with. Tell us a bit more about Welsh Society, how did you get involved?
I got involved in my first year just through the stall in Freshers Fair. It’s nice to meet people with a similar background and I get to identify with people in a real tangible way. It’s also a great way to watch the rugby with a few pints!
It sounds a really nice community. Do you get non-Welsh members?
Yes of course! We want to keep it as inclusive as possible. We’ve got lots of non-Welsh members who love Welsh soc as much we do. On campus in freshers week I overheard a group of girls saying “we might just join Welsh soc for the sesh!”
It sounds like Welsh Soc is pretty well known for its socials! Any memorable ones?
In our first red T-Shirt social of the year an international rugby player from the Exeter Chiefs turned up! We also organised a huge social for the Wales v England game in Timepiece last week. To be honest, every social is a lot of fun and I’m very excited for this weekend.
Where are you off to on your tour? What will you be expecting from it?
There’s seventy two of us heading to Edinburgh on a double decker bus… it’s safe to say there will be a lot of drinking!
You’re also a presenter on Xpression FM. How do you go about planning your weekly show?
My show always has an album review and ‘alternate profile’, which is where I predict someone who I think will become an indie star in the future. For example, I’ve previously predicted Mura Masa and Jorja Smith.
You’re heavily involved in lots of activites outside of your degree. If you could help other people wanting to get more stuck in to projects outside of their studies, what would you advise?
I’d advise not to join too many societies but to make sure that the ones you do join you participate and attend regularly, and perhaps even try for committee! It is hard work but it’s very rewarding.
Any time management tips?
Set aside nights that you don’t want to go out and make sure you do the required work on these evenings. Work hard play hard!
We also see that you were involved in the SABB Elections for Guild President nominee Pete Gillibrand, what did that entail?
I was in the campaign video which reached over 20,000 views – so 20,000 people saw my face for the five seconds I was in it! I was also on the hill campainging like many other students and it was nice to see so many people interested in the Guild. I think it’s important to get involved if you want your student voice heard.
Wow – it’s great to see someone so involved within the student community. Do you have any near future plans for any of these societies?
Obviously the tour this weekend has taken a lot of planning and organising which has been my main focus recently. We’ve also got our AGM for Welsh Society coming up. I’ll be playing in a football charity match for Xpression to raise money for the Adam Stansfield foundation in March. Come on down to Rameoke on Friday the 3rd if you want to hear this angelic voice!
Thank you so much for your time, Alex – have fun in Edinburgh!