Interview with Giulio Folino, President of the Student Union at City University
Every university or college has its stars; those people that are always everywhere, and everyone seems to know them. If there is one person out of the 17,000 students of City University that you need to know, it is definitely our student union president, Giulio Folino. Mr. President – a brilliant, cheerful, down-to-earth guy — has led the SU twice, elected first in 2012 and then again last March.
On the 28th of February, his successor’s name will be revealed, but let’s be honest: who isn’t going to miss Giulio?! (No pressure for the future president!)
Let’s thank him for these two years of hard work by discovering a bit more about our lovely president.
First of all, what is your major? Business computing systems
What is your ethnic background? My parents are from Italy and Mauritius.
Do you remember your first day as a City student? How did you feel? I felt quite lost as a student, and I was not sure of where to go for information. I missed my induction talk but managed to make some friends in my class, some of which I am still good friends with today.
Why did you decide to stand as SU president? I decided to stand as the SU president because I wanted to see real change at the university and to make sure that new students have an even better experience than I did.
How do you think the university has changed since your first year as a student? I think university services have improved greatly. In recent times, the university has worked to remove duplication across schools and moved to a centralised shared-service model, which is beginning to show many benefits.
What do you think were your biggest achievements as president? I think lobbying the university to remove fees for re-sits and clerical checking and introducing the London Living Wage for the lowest paid staff here at City.
What did you enjoy doing as president? And what did you hate? I enjoyed getting to know so many students and being able to use my position to make positive, long-lasting changes for students. I dislike the amount of hours I do, but I have passion for the job, so it is all worth it in the end.
What are your plans for the future? My plans are to work in IT in the near future, with a longer-term plan to potentially get back into politics later on in life.
What advice would you give to the new generations of City students? I would say make the most of student life, and get involved with all the different clubs, societies and sports teams we have to offer. Once you go into the workplace, it will be much harder to meet people, so make the most of what you have here at City.
And, last but not least, will you miss dressing as a carrot? I think I definitely will. I will miss dressing up as Superwoman (for the student survey campaign) even more.