Can you describe the English Society in a sentence?
The English Society is more than just a Society for people that study an English degree – it’s a community!
What does your role as president involve?
As President, you might just think that I sit back and delegate to the rest of my lovely Committee members, and whereas there is some delegation – I’m only one guy, after all! – I am at the forefront of everything we do as a Society. Lecture shout-outs, selling tickets for socials and manning the various Facebook pages are things that people have already seen, but behind the scenes, I’ve been dealing with various external companies to arrange an exciting array of events for the members of the Society! It’s pretty full on, at times it feels like a full time job, but I’m happy to do it if it means that members of the English Society have an absolutely amazing time!
Liam (third from right) and the rest of the English Society Committee 2014-15
What can English students look forward to from the Society this year?
All the standard things that course-based Societies get up to, such as bar crawls, trips to clubs and boat parties, but also many more exciting things! An end of year formal, theatre trips, quizzes and film screenings to name just a few. There’s also a few amazing opportunities in the pipeline, including guest lectures, careers talks from areas relevant to English, and there might even be the chance to go volunteering abroad at the end of the year…
Any highlights of your time in the society so far?
So far, it’s been meeting the Freshers. Since results day, the Committee have been helping the Freshers with all their worries, questions and concerns, and now that they’re finally in Nottingham, it’s great to be able to put names to faces! This was especially true at our Meet and Greet / Book Sale, where we took over two rooms in Trent, and the corridor between them! I was very proud at the end of that day!
Liam in his Presidential role at Freshers Fair!
What would you like your presidential legacy to be?
On a personal note, I’d like to be remembered as the President who was there for all of the members of the English Society, the President who made everyone’s lives a little easier and a little more enjoyable. From a Society perspective, I’d like to be the President who brings the English back into the English Society, hence all my efforts to arrange such a vast array of events!
What other things take up your time when you’re not doing Presidential duties?
Well, my degree first of all! Being a third year English with Creative Writing student, things are really starting to get serious! I work for the Uni too, as a Supervisor for the Student Calling Fundraising Team, knowing that I’m doing some good and raising funds that really transform some student’s lives here at Nottingham is really rewarding, and I can always be found helping out at School of English Open Days. In the occasional downtime that I do have, I spend it either writing, or out in Nottingham (Crisis is a personal favourite of mine)!
Who is your literary hero and why?
It’s so hard to pick just one! I revere the Japanese author Haruki Murakami; I think everything he writes is just pure genius. If I could be a tenth of the writer he is, I’d be happy. J. K. Rowling is also hero of mine, just for the fact that if she didn’t write Harry Potter, I wouldn’t be where I am today – I never read before Harry came along! I also really admire the sports writer Jonathan Wilson, who I believe is the best sports writer around; I really try to take his style on board when I’m doing my own sports writing. I picked three… sorry for cheating!