This week’s Campus Celebrity is the second year student Eleonora Sceusi, 19. As she is part of the Italian Society Exec, we got a glimpse into what it’s like to work “behind the scenes” at events and team meetings. (Eleonora Sceusi, far right)
Hello, Eleonora, thank you for being this week’s Campus Celebrity! First things first: how did you become interested in the Italian Society and its exec?
As I am Italian, being away from home can sometimes be hard, especially when work load gets overwhelming and you just need a pick me up from someone who can relate to you and what’s going on in your life. Last year, when I saw the Italian Society stand at the Freshers Fair, I was instantly excited by the idea of having somewhere to go where I could speak my own language with people with my same traditions and cultural background. This year, when I was given the possibility to actively participate in the exec and work with the team to create a society for the Italian freshers coming to Lancaster and the international students interested in the Italian culture, I was thrilled.
What does being the Publicity Officer actually mean?
As a society, events are our main focus when having to find occasions where we can bond and interact with our members. My role is to promote and share our events, both on social media and other more traditional forms of advertising, and make sure people are informed of what we do, when we do it, and how we do it. As I am majoring in Advertising and Marketing, this role really ties in to what I am doing and gives me the opportunity to put the theory I learn in class into practice.
How long have you been doing this for?
I have been part of the exec since the start of the academic year, so I’ve been doing it for about a month.
What events do you have planned for this term?
We have a weekly “Caffè Italiano” meet up which is just a relax and chat kind of event, in which we tell our members what we are going to do in the following weeks and have the chance to really mingle with them. We have also started Italian lessons for beginners which also runs every week, and seems to be a really popular thing. Apparently, lots of people want to learn Italian!
We are also collaborating with the Marketing Society for a Halloween party next week, a wine tasting event with the Eurotrip Society, and we are currently pencilling in some other events before we break up for the Christmas holidays.
One last question: what is needed for a society exec to work well together?
I think all societies need to have a team that collaborates and provides the members with events and interesting ways to appreciate the nature of the society. The exec needs to treat the society as a place where members can enjoy being together and have fun, as opposed to forcing the members to participate and be active. If the society works well, the members will want to feel and be a part of it.
Thank you for taking the time out of your lecture-packed day to talk to us, Eleonora!