Guild President

Manan Shah

My name is Manan and I’m a final-year law student. I’m a mature student and an international student. I’m from Canada, Toronto, I came here in 2020 right in the midst of COVID. I’ve loved my time here in Exeter and I’m hoping to stay here as long as I can. I’m a big fan of like just regular like very cliche activities like mini golf and bowling and I like photography on the side. Just whether it’s people or our nature events.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BE GUILD PRESIDENT?

WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE THING YOU’D LIKE TO DO IF ELECTED?

Something that I’ve always been very interested in is EDI (Equality Diversity and Inclusion) work. It’s something that remains a passion of mine and I want to be Guild president so I can make more meaningful change at the University which is something that I’ve always thought is possible. I think having a voice of someone that is so passionate about certain topics can make actual change and it can make a better university experience for students. I know I have a little bit of a special experience having two different university experiences one in Canada and one here and I know the pros and cons of both and I think I can bring a unique experience to the role and hopefully make it better and make the university experience better for years to come.

I’d like to focus on the cost-of-living-crisis. I want to offer more support to international students. Like myself, international students here don’t get any type of funding from the UK Government — we don’t qualify for things like student loans or bursaries. I feel like more can be done, not just for international students specifically, but for all students because this cost-of-living crisis has been painful. I know that it’s difficult doing a degree amd working at the same time, but a lot of us don’t have that choice. I would like to carry on the work in my first year I got involved with through the education incubator here at Exeter. It’s a great way for students to get involved and get some funding for their activism projects, whether it’s active anti racism, or guided work to create safer spaces for LGBTQ+ which are all great causes that we should put more money towards.

What is the biggest challenge you will face in the ROLE?

I think the biggest challenge would be trying to figure out a way to get around pushback. As Guild President, one of the bigger things that I need to be aware of is that not everyone is going to be sharing the same vision that I have. I can have as many ideas as I want, but it’s not necessarily always going to be as feasible as I think it will be. So, trying to work with the University, understand how the logistics work and try to get as many of my goals accomplished as possible. While also taking into account what other students want, because what students want this year may change next year.

What is your BIGGEST WEAKNESS?

I think one of my bigger ones is trying to accomplish too many things at once while not putting enough focus on bigger tasks. I know from past experiences because I have such a passion for wanting to get things done, I’m going to try to get as many things done as possible and it sometimes makes it more difficult to get them accomplished because I’m not putting my full thought and effort into one at a time.

HOW WILL YOU make sure that you represent all students’ views?

What is your MOST MEMORABLE NIGHT OUT IN EXETER?

I think by uplifting voices. I cannot speak for every minority group because I don’t belong to every minority group, whereas although I’m a student of colour, I can only represent my own experiences. As my experience will be different from a student of color who’s female or nonbinary. All of that would be different, the same way how I can’t speak for disabled students, for example, because I don’t have a disability. But in that case, rather than me trying to speak for them, it would be better to uplift their voices and hear directly from them what they want from the Guild.

The first time I went to Cheesies? I love a good night at cheesies as well as attending the Law ball last year. I was a member of the Law Society Committee last year and the law ball is always a great time — I enjoy dressing up and suiting up.

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