OFFICE MANAGER Lara Athena Reyes

As my time on council this year comes to an end, I look towards the ways in which we can improve our services and make clear the direction we want to serve the student body. For my report, I’d like to explain how I’ve been striving and approaching to improve the various aspects of council, such as the office organization, meeting minutes, and events.

Office Organization

Over the Reading Week, I worked alongside a few council members to remodel the VUSAC office to be more accommodating and welcoming for students. This included making the layout much more conducive to our services, including highlighting the snacks available, creating a separate conversation area and quiet study zone, as well as moving printing to the sectioned off corner off the room. We also organized the back office, which has been one of my top priorities since I was hired. We have sectioned it off based on club, levy, commission, and general supplies, and keeping a table in the center for expected usages and pickups throughout the week. I’m eager to see how these two systems work and how we can continue to improve the efficiency of the VUSAC office in the future.

Meeting Minutes

Taking meeting minutes has been nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve definitely felt the workload of university catch up to me as I try to meet the deadline of minutes being sent out. Due to the weight of midterm season, I’ve been spending my Reading Week working on Fall Caucus, Budget Ratification, and the two regular meetings before the break. I’ve also been on the Council Policies review team, and have discussed possibly incorporating a secondary form of minutes that would be succinct and in bullet point-form. This would be handled by the Chair and me, so that minutes would be more readable for the VCU.

Events

In terms of events, I’ve been taking more of an initiative to get people engaged with the office. In January, I created a form for feedback on the office to be collected, so that the changes made over Reading Week would be aligned to the needs and wants of the students. For February, I decorated the office to be Valentine’s themed, and started a ‘VUSAC Plays Cupid’ project, where students could send love letters anonymously. The project was successful, and I sent out over sixty emails. In the remaining month of this council, I’ll be working with the Academic Commission to hold an anti-procrastination study night in the office, and with the First-Year Councillors to have a scavenger hunt in our office to increase foot traffic and awareness of our services.

Wrapping Up the Year

While this was my first year involved in student leadership at Vic, this definitely won’t be my last. Constitutionally, Office Manager means having very specific responsibilities in relation to the maintenance of council. But as I’ve learned, this position has given me the opportunity to work towards resolutions, discuss developments, and grow as a leader. I have made mistakes, but I have learned quite a lot, and that’s all I could really ask for. I am excited to see the trajectory and direction of council in the future, and hope to be a part of that growth.