Beyond the classroom

Amanuel Woldemariam

Beyond the classroom: my student society experience

Written by Amanuel Woldemariam, Bachelor of Economics/Bachelor of Advanced Studies

When I first came to the University of Sydney, I felt out place. Having graduated from a high school with only four of the 100-strong class attending the University of Sydney, it was a daunting experience not knowing anyone. So, I began university life feeling incredibly lonely and lost.

I soon made my first friend in my first ECMT 1010 Introduction to Economic Statistics tutorial. To this day, they are still one of my closest friends and together we set out to get to know more of our classmates. Surprisingly, I had not heard of the Economics Society until by chance, I went to a welcome event in my first semester. I was amazed that students were able to organise their own events for people studying a similar degree. After meeting and talking to people who were as passionate about Economics as I was, I realised I had come to the right place.

It was clear from those conversations, we truly believed that Economics had to the ability to be the catalyst for tangible change in the lives of ordinary people. In our naivety – and the benefit of hindsight – we believe we knew much more than we did, but I suppose that is a corollary of being the oldest students in the playground back in high school.

“If you are a student reading this, wondering whether you should sign up for subcommittee or go to that Annual General Meeting to get involved – I urge you to do so. The experience that will come to pass will be almost as good as the world-class education you will receive here at the University of Sydney.”

Image: Warren Tease, Treasury Chief Adviser, Financial Markets

I knew I wanted to be a part of this student society. I applied to be part of the subcommittee and was elected to a role in the Careers portfolio. I admit to having no idea what the job entailed, but I was excited.

My first bit of involvement I had was helping to move chairs when we invited Secretary to Treasury, John Fraser to present a talk. We had just over 20 people attend. I felt very privileged to have met someone who played such a critical role in economics and felt proud to have asked questions that were triggered by my own curiosities. While I enjoyed that event, I could safely say my next step with the Economics Society was much more exciting.

I was elected Vice-President of the Careers portfolio. With the co-operation of the whole team, we hosted our first ever Private Industry Night. We brought together representatives from the ‘Big 4’ professional services firms to meet our members. This was my first time organising a major networking event and I learned a considerable amount about how to run and event and engage with industry. All in all, it was a successful event with it all going to plan. However, I soon learned that it does not always happen that way. Our careers speaking event hit a road bump when we had our keynote speaker cancel two weeks from the advertised date because of a last-minute engagement they could not postpone. We were left with an advertised speaking event with students signed up to attend, a venue booked and catering organised but no speaker. It was times like these where the hard lessons were learned. We were lucky enough to have found a replacement and had the event go ahead. It taught me a lot about adaptability and finding a way, no matter what.

Image: R: Jai Ojha “I think this is the best aspect of being part of something you can be proud of – it is the memories and the people I will cherish over the many years to come.”

The following year, we held our Private Industry Night again. This time, we had 11 firms send representatives. Talk about growth! With it came more effort and time to organise it, but I can wholeheartedly say it was worth it. I learned a week after hosting our event that a student attendee secured a role at one of the firms represented on the night.

In the same year, I had the privilege of being elected President of the society. I now had the responsibility of overseeing all the events that the society runs. From the skills and experience I have picked up, the one that sticks with me going ahead is the importance of having trustworthy people on which you can rely upon. Conversely, also be someone they can rely on. As the academic year starts, we are excited to hold bigger and better events for our members and bring together the next generation of EconSoc executives.

I recently caught up with a former EconSoc executive who I met though my involvement with the society. They are now in the workforce. We spent our lunch time reminiscing about all the ‘hustling’ that our inexperienced selves passed in our attempt to ensure our events were not total disasters. I think this is the best aspect of being part of something you can be proud of – it is the memories and the people I will cherish over the many years to come. If you are a student reading this, wondering whether you should sign up for sub-committee or go to that Annual General Meeting to get involved – I urge you to do so. The experience that will come to pass will be almost as good as the world-class education you will receive here at the University of Sydney.