Meet 22 year old Mei Pang – Josephine Butler Mathematics student, DUFS President, Durham Diva, and Soap and Glory rep!
This week I got to catch up with Mei Pang, and we chatted about Durham, Soap and Glory… and even our fave coffee shops!
Why did you choose Durham in the first place?
I loved the collegiate system from the moment I started researching the uni! There were so many sports and societies on offer which I wanted to get involved in, and then I visited – and loved it even more!
So, now you are here (Mei’s a fourth year student, graduating with a Masters in Mathematics this June!) what sports/societies are you involved in?
On a university level I’m part of the Durham Diva’s which I absolutely love! I’ve done that since second year, and competed in national competitions in Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Blackpool – which has been so much fun. On a college level I was captain of Butler badminton last year and love to pop into Butler Tigers rehearsals every now and again, to see how they are getting on!
I’m also Co-President of DUFS (Durham University Finance Society) which can be hard work but is really rewarding! We are the largest society in Durham based on members of our Facebook group (nearly 3,000!) and we put on all sorts of events: educational events, CV workshops, internship workshops, breakfasts, lunches, dinners with investment banks and other financial services firms – there’s a lot that goes on!
So is that what you’d like to do after graduation? Would you like to go into business?
Ideally I’m looking at going into a mix of project management and software engineering! I enjoy programming and have taught myself a lot through online projects and tutorials – something that even took me to Twitter HQ recently! I’ve interned with Citi, RBS, and Ernst and Young – luckily I’ve got a few grad offers so it’s a great position to be in!
So: Soap and Glory – how did you get involved?
I’ve done a lot of promotional and brand management work in the past. In my first year I worked with an IT consultancy company and took on their brand management – and it has sort of spiralled from there! I’ve worked for companies like ASOS, FDM Group, Sanctuary Graduates, Rate My Placement, and Milkround – and after ASOS the opportunity with Soap and Glory came up (they are headed by the same company) and so I applied to get involved! I love their products, it sounded like a lot of fun, and something a bit different. Talking and spreading the word about products you already know and love and to use, seemed like an incredible job opportunity.
What’s your favourite part of the role?
Primarily going out, meeting people, and giving out free products to girls that have done incredible things, its great they get to feel appreciated and I get to be part of that! I get to meet people from literally all walks of life and get the chance to meet lots of different people from different societies and sports teams! Even just people I see in the Chemistry Café – its super fun – but you have to be very outgoing and not afraid to talk to people!
What’s your least favourite part of the role?
Sometimes it’s hard justifying yourself. The ‘random acts of kindness’ campaign sometimes confuses people – they think I’m being a little creepy ahha and get very confused! People aren’t used to someone going up to them and saying: ‘I’ve got over £100 worth of beauty products for your social would you like them?’ as they assume there’s a catch and are automatically a bit suspicious! But at the end of the day, it can be difficult but there are so many more ups than downs to the job and it’s why I enjoy it so much.
The most recent Soap and Glory campaign was ‘Galentines’ which celebrated huge girl friendship groups – what’s the latest Soap and Glory campaign?
Okay so – every 3/4 weeks we get a new delivery, new products, and a new theme to share with you guys! Basically there’s a ‘Spring Clean’ and then an ‘Easter’ theme for the rest of this term – everyone is coming up to deadlines, summative season is taking hold and Soap and Glory want to clean out all the bad and bring in the good! It’s about tackling dissertation season, and helping you guys through all those essays and projects! It’s for those girls who’ve spent all term on an assignment and can now get it out of the way and take back all those library books!
Fab! So finally, what’s your favourite thing about Durham? And more importantly – what’s your favourite coffee shop?
My favourite thing about Durham is that there’s so many opportunities on offer – you can get involved in literally anything and everything! The collegiate system is fantastic, it’s really great to mix with people outside of your course and meet so many different people! I love that the city is so small – everywhere you go you see someone you know and everything is in walking distance!
And my fave coffee shop in Durham… Vennels. 100%.
Our exec were even lucky enough to get a Soap and Glory goodie bag each!
You can like Soap & Glory Durham on Facebook – ‘Soap and Glory Durham’.