Getting involved in SULC - Alena's Perspective

By Alena Boian

Before I write anything further, you should know that I’m not a law, arts or even a  politics student, but I am in SULC!

My name’s Alena, and I’m now (basically) a second-year student in a B Pharmacy and Management. I started university in 2020 in another degree, but with full intentions of joining SULC as soon as I got to campus. I had heard a few things about the club from my then boyfriend, who spoke so highly of it even though he didn’t attend USYD. I was lucky enough to attend two small events with the club before Covid really kicked in. They were really chill and fun. One was a pub crawl through the city. I remember being so close to backing out of going because I didn’t know anyone but it ended up being a great night. As soon as I arrived everyone was so welcoming and put me at ease. Since joining I’ve had every opportunity to get involved with the club and am so happy I decided to get involved. Soon enough, I was sitting in Zoom rooms playing trivia and listening to debates with politicians present. SULC is full of fun surprises which make every event more and more intriguing. Although 2020 was a rollercoaster of a year, SULC held an amazing girls Christmas dinner, which really made me feel at home in the club. In fact, it was the highlight of my university year. 

When I was first asked to write this, I wanted to take it as an opportunity to share my experience with people who may be feeling the same way as I did when I was first thinking about joining, and soon after when I did join. I won’t lie and say that it wasn’t slightly intimidating finding out almost everyone did Law/Arts/Politics degrees, but that hasn’t stopped me from being able to connect everyone I’ve met and find so many common interests. After all, we’d have to have something in common to have joined the club in the first place. I learnt quickly in fact that because I didn’t do one of those degrees, that everyone was even more interested in what I did. 

I know as a first year it’s daunting to join clubs and enter the big wide world of university, but SULC definitely gave me an opportunity to be around people who I shared common interests with, and I think as a first year, that is the most comforting thing, and why I will continue to be a member of SULC for as long as I possibly can be.