Everyone will tell you that university will be a pivotal time in your life. The three years in which you’ll meet friends for life; fall in love with the person you’re going to marry; find yourself. Maybe you’ll even fit some lectures in. Maybe.
With so much to fit into so little time, it can feel like you’re doing all you can to keep yourself afloat. But university is the perfect time to start making your mark on the world around you – and it doesn’t mean sacrificing all the other stuff that comes with the uni territory.
It comes down to this: you have the power and potential to shape a better world. Yes, you.
You have the energy and passion to support a cause you care about. You have the ideas and enthusiasm which could make all the difference to a campaign. You have the power to address the problems you see on your doorstep, and around the world.
At Student Hubs, we’re not defined by a single cause: our aim is to help you find yours. Whether it’s human rights, climate change, mental health, effective philanthropy, social enterprise, gender equality, elderly isolation – or anything else you can think of – we want to support you to take the lead and tackle it head-on.
Let’s face it, there are loads of issues out there. In an ideal world, we would engage with all these problems, all the time, and do our best to fix them. But we definitely don’t live in an ideal world.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything! Social leadership is not just in the grand gestures, or the Nobel Peace Prizes.
Social leadership is in the hour you spend each week with an older person at a local nursing home. Sharing a cuppa, looking over old photos, cracking jokes, passing the time of day.
Social leadership is organising your friends to start a campaign for a cause you’re passionate about. Learning the ropes, getting the word out, raising awareness of an issue close to your heart until the whole university is buzzing about it, and pressing for change to happen. You can do that.
If you’re just starting at one of our Hub universities – Bristol, Cambridge, Imperial College London, Kingston, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, SOAS, Southampton, Warwick or Winchester– you’re in luck! We have dedicated student committees and staff support who want to welcome you into the social action fold. Go to their websites and find out how you can get involved.
Not in one of those universities? Sorry – we haven’t made it everywhere (yet!). But fret not – take a look around our website and see what tickles your fancy. Get in touch with us on info@www.studenthubs.org and keep your eyes on our social media – we’re always updating with opportunities, news and events that will empower you to make your mark.