Love, Maddi
During my time at university (2014 - 2018) my involvement with the Social Impact Studio was twofold;
Through my coordination of the Women’s Refuge Annual Appeal
Through the Student Leadership Award
I relied on the Social Impact Studio more frequently as my coordination of the WR Appeal continued over four years. They were a huge source of wisdom, advice, resources, and connections that helped to streamline and improve processes as required.
I then became involved in the Student Leadership Award after prompting from Sze-En Watts, which encouraged me to get involved in a wider range of activities over and above the fundraising for the Refuge, and to reflect on the work I was doing, why it mattered, and how I could improve personally.
I cannot sing the praises of the work that the Social Impact Studio does enough. There are so many benefits to getting students involved in volunteering early and frequently, and they play a crucial role in this. While I personally learnt many life lessons, it was also hugely beneficial for my job prospects, and the Dunedin community. When I went to interview at the Boston Consulting Group, the graduate job that would take me to Sydney, all four interviewers asked about the work I had done for the Refuge. They all asked about how I got into it, how we continued besting the amount we had raised the year before, and my plans for continuing to grow it in my final year. I know that the Refuge was better off for the work I did, and it certainly benefited me.
The lessons I learned through both the Appeal week and the Student Leadership Award were numerous but definitely contributed to my leadership ability, my communication skills, and my ability to have a million and one things on my to do list and not panic - all skills that I still rely on daily today.
Finally, Sze-En Watts and Kasey Miles who were then running the Social Impact Studio became trusted advisors, sources, idea generation machines, and general support systems as I grappled with issues from how best to recruit good volunteers, expansion of the events we ran, succession planning, whether to open the volunteering up to departments other than law (as it was originally), and many other questions. Their endless energy and passion were such sources of strength, and helped shape the Appeals week to the point where in my final year we raised over $40,000 for the Refuge.
All the involvement I had with the Social Impact Studio was beneficial, and I cannot vouch highly enough for them. It provides a critical service to University students, to the University itself, and to the local community. Through encouraging students to get involved in impactful work, they are taught critical life lessons, and gain better job prospects. It benefitted me significantly while I was at Uni, and know that hundreds of other students are in the exact same position as myself.
Maddi Ingham