Edma Hyskaj

Community is such an important part of university, it allows students to form meaningful connections in all areas such as sports, socieites, halls, and even lectures. It creates a hub of socialising in a safe and protected environment where we can look out for one another's welfare, offering a hand when a friend or stranger needs help. I want to create an environment where everybody can feel safe and included, this means actively identifying issues faced in the community and striving to fix them. 

I have found that many students feel isolated at University due to many different reasons, they're away from home, friends, or are struggling with school work and this takes a great tole on mental health. Although the conversation around mental health has gotten better than it used to be, there are still many steps we need to take in order to destigmatise reaching out for help. I myself have struggled with recognising and accepting when I did need help, so I can understand the reasons of why we don't reach out. However, due to my wonderful support group I always felt like I could turn to someone in a time of need. I would like this to be the norm in our community, I want to prioritise mental health and that also means discovering ways to increase the chances of someone taking actions to support themselves. This could be by improving their physical health, one way I would like to help improve someone's physical and mental health, is to fight to eliminate the sports team pass since club memberships are already expensive which deters students from joining, this means they don't have access to the communities that could support them. Sport is very important for both physical and social reasons, but these fees are costly to many students, and I don't think it is fair that people should have to choose between a fun activity every week or not. 

If you choose me I will ensure that you are not dismissed, I will hear you and work with you to solve any problem you face. I want to create an environment which means university can be enjoyable for everybody, so that nobody regrets choosing the University of Southampton.