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| Day 1: Getting ready for a Strategy Session |
During the first week of the winter holidays, the new Board of
Directors and senior staff of the USU packed up and bunkered down at a super
secret rural location (…otherwise known as Coogee) for three days to plan,
discuss, strategize, and bond together in preparation for the upcoming Board
term of 2012-2013. As this was my first ever Board induction, I had no idea
what to expect, but words of wisdom from second year Directors such as “really
intense”, “a massive learning experience” but also “the most fun you’ll have as
a Board Director” left me intrigued and excited about what would be in store.
Sure enough, as soon as induction started I reevaluated my
definition of what I had previously thought was “really intense”. Each day was jam
packed 9am-5pm with sessions where us new directors were intensively schooled
on the inner workings of the USU, which areas of the student experience were
provided by the different departments, and outlined in detail our roles and
duties and Board directors to facilitate, provide guidance and direction to the
entire organization. We also were fortunate enough to hear from former USU
Presidents Adam Spencer (Adam Spencer!!!) and Dom Hogan Doran, whose candid and
inspiring regaling of their first-hand experiences working on the Union Board
provided us with plenty of food for thought and ideas on how to create the best
possible culture and environment between the Board, the staff, and the student
members.
For me personally, I found
Board induction to be an incredible, somewhat daunting, but overwhelmingly
exciting experience. As I came into induction, I thought I had a pretty good
understanding of the Union and how it operated, but after the first day I was
floored by the new realization of just how much the Union provides for us as
students in a myriad of ways and how complex and intricate the organization is.
I also found Retreat to be a steep learning curve, especially the financial
component (the last time I sat a maths exam was in year 11 and I got 17%…)
however the finance intensive sessions conducted by our CEO Andrew Woodward
definitely opened my eyes to the world of finance and I’ve found I quite enjoy
reading balance sheets now that I actually know how to understand them!
As I have been a Board Director for all of 3 weeks, I can say with
conviction Board induction has been the “most fun I’ve had” so far. In
particular I have really appreciated getting to know the senior staff better.
These staff have been here and will continue to be here for years longer than
myself and the other student Directors, and having the opportunity to learn
from their institutional experience and expertise was truly invaluable.
Finally, my favourite part of induction was definitely our brainstorming
session. Fuelled by caffeine and lollies, the staff and student Directors holed
up in a room for 2 hours and threw out as many sky-is-the-limit,
no-holds-barred ideas as we could as to how we could make our Union provide the
best possible student experience for all of us and for students for years to
come. And between you and me, the ideas were truly extraordinary.
Bring on 2012-2013!
Bring on 2012-2013!
Hannah Morris
Board Director
