Imperial College Union President 13/14 David Goldsmith reflects on his year

David Goldsmith looks back on his time in office as President of Imperial College Union.

When I meet David, he’s in a reflective mood: “The year has gone really well” he begins “it would be really difficult for it to not go well because of the strong position the Union is in. It’s improved dramatically over the years. It’s become this incredibly professional organisation with an excellent staff team, with strong governance and that’s really freed us up as Sabbatical Officers to do better than we otherwise would have been able to do.”

Getting to grips with the job in hand

Prior to being elected David had been studying medicine at the College for two years. He is the first to admit that going straight from being an undergraduate in the College to meeting with College management and overseeing 50 staff in the Students’ Union is quite a step-change. Being surrounded by people often much older and more experienced than you can be quite a daunting environment “What matters though in this role is that your opinion matters so trust it and make it heard because that’s why you’re elected.”

The President of Imperial College Union works alongside a team of four other sabbatical officers acting as they voice for all students at Imperial, representing their views. This year David worked alongside Kieron Creagh, Deputy President (Finance and Services), Yaz Edwards, Deputy President (Clubs and Societies), Nat Kempston, Deputy President (Education) and Marissa Lewis, Deputy President (Welfare) to create and lead the union and shape the student experience here at the College.

David already had a sense of how the Union worked before he began the role but the greatest insight came from his interactions with the College. “Seeing how Imperial works and seeing just how human the College is was probably the most surprising thing. I think with an organisation that size you can often forget that there are people at the top and it’s not just this faceless organisation.”

Lasting legacy

With so much packed into such a short period of time David struggles to pick just one highlight of his year in the job. “Can I pick two? I’m going to pick two”, he remarks. “Professionally, I feel like the Student Consultation Framework was a real accomplishment. To start and finish a project that stretched over two terms, something that hadn’t been done before was a real achievement. It looks like other universities want to take the idea up now and develop their own versions which is really exciting to see.” For his second highlight he reflects on a more personal moment, “the most exciting point for me would absolutely be the second speech in the Undergraduate Graduation Ceremony. I’ve had to give a few repeat speeches during my time as Union President. The first time you give it its ok but you’re still finding your feet. The second is where you really belt it out. You know where you are, you’re still so excited and you have the adrenalin rush that gives you a good performance. There’s not many jobs you get where you get to deliver a speech on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall in front of 6000 people so that’s something that I’m definitely going to remember.”

Undergraduate Graduation Day 2013

Outside of this David has taken pride in the way the sabbatical team have built on and refined initiatives to take the Union forward: “I think this year has been about taking things that were done in previous years and doing them properly and doing them really well” David says, “Things like our Student Academic Choice Awards and our Union Awards. We’ve held these events and really taken it up a notch this this year. We’ve put a lot more resource into them and created events that are truly worthy of a celebration of that sort.”

When asked about his legacy David wants to be remembered as an outward facing President. Over the last year Imperial College Union has worked more than ever before on issues that reach beyond the campus boundaries. It was this lobbying work within the House of Lords that saw the Science and Technology Committee announce an inquiry on the impact of the proposed Immigration Bill will have on international students. Widening the Union’s campaigning work to include interacting with MPs, MEPs and local Councillors on none College issues that affect students was an important thing for David, “Forming relationships with those people and moving the Union towards being a union that engages more with the outside world, that’s definitely the team have brought to the Union this year,” he notes proudly.

Looking forward

The position has also been one of great personal growth and development for David, “I feel that this experience has woken me up to how things really work in the world. I think when you’re a student very much get swept through the system rather than being able to get to grips with it and change it for the better – which I have been able to do in this role.” Being an elected representative is something David is keen to continue even after he’s left his role at ICU. Next year he will be on the British Medical Association’s Medical Students Committee representing Imperial Medical School on a national level and putting some of the things he learnt as President to use elsewhere.

This is also knowledge that David is likely to call onto in his future here at Imperial as he looks ahead to four more years at Imperial, “I feel like I haven’t been here too long and I really enjoy it so I’m happy to go back.”

“Check back and ask me how I feel in three years though,” he laughs.