Royal Holloway’s Politics and International Relations Society is run by students, for students. Our Committee is elected by our members each academic year.
2022/2023 Committee Page Coming Soon…
Ben Askew
President
Hey everyone! I’m Ben and I’m the President of PIRSoc for the next academic year! I am a third year Politics and International Relations student, and I’m thrilled to have been elected as President of the society after having been a model UN delegate in my first year and the Volunteering and Social Officer for the last 12 months. My key goals for the next year are to work alongside the new Royal Holloway Model UN Head Delegates to usher in our new conference here at Royal Holloway, and to oversee the committee in our return to in- person events. I’m so excited to see all returning members come September and to meet some new faces!
Lauren Ruiz
Secretary
Hi everyone. My name is Lauren and I am a third year Politics and International Relations student as well as your new Secretary. As Secretary, I am in charge of the administrative side of the society. This involves helping the president plan meetings, emails, risk assessments and so much more. However, as mentioned in my manifesto, I also wish to focus on the diversity and well- being of members as well as help to introduce our new model United Nations, RHMUN. After being in the society for two years in a row, attending two LIMUN conferences and being on the committee last year, I can already tell that PIRsoc is going to have another fantastic year. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions and I look forward to seeing old and new faces this year!
Elica Novin
Treasurer
Hi guys! I’m Elica, a third year Politics, Philosophy, and Economics student and your lovely Treasurer for this academic year!
Despite the current climate of the pandemic, I aim to ensure that everything runs as financially smooth as possible. Overall, I’ll be managing all expenses and incomes within the society, providing accessibility to all types of events and socials for its members, whilst also holistically supporting the committee.
I’ve had the amazing opportunity to be part of 2 great delegations, NMUN New York and NMUN International, where I was able to make life-long memories, learn some great key transferrable skills and have the best time of my life! I intend to mirror such incredible experiences to the rest of the society and university as a whole. Hope to meet you all soon at our freshers fair and other future gatherings!
Adila M. Hilmi
IT officer and Editor of The Despatch Box
Hey everyone! My name is Adila and I am a final year LLB Law student from Malaysia. This year I am your Online Journal and IT officer. I will be responsible for monitoring the society’s online presence through our social media pages and website. In addition to that I am also the Editor of The Despatch Box, the societies political journal. I have also had the honour of being a delegate to RHUL’s NMUNNY 2020 delegation and was Head Delegate to RHUL’s NMUN International 2020/21 delegation.
My aim is to encourage as many of you as possible to get involved be it as a regular writer or not. It is always great to try something new and we are always on a hunt for new writers to write for our journal. I hope to be able to organiser workshops and equip our members with writing skills that they can put to the test. I cant wait to meet all of you very soon and don’t be afraid to say hello!
Joshua Castle
Careers Officer
Hello! I’m Joshua and I’ll be your Careers Officer once again. Last year more than most, a lot of us were looking at the grad job market with our head in our hands. That is why I have quite the job this year to help as many people as I can in finding their first step on their career path. But where there is a bit of flux, there are opportunities. That is why I will be working hard on a number of events to stand you all in good stead. Keep an eye on our socials for more, but coming up we have events such as a journalist’s roundtable, internship application crash course, a diplomacy workshop, and a civil service visit. I hope to see as many of you at these events as possible. Anyway, I look forward to meeting you all in a week’s time at our Fresher’s events. Bye for now!
Adriana Deaconescu
Volunteering & Social Officer
Hi I’m Adriana but everybody calls me Adri. I’m a 3rd year Liberal Arts student, and this year I’m your new Volunteering and Social Officer.
My aim for the new academic year is to give everybody the well-deserved events that we missed last year because of Covid. I hope to bring in some old and new social events where everybody can feel safe, have fun and make friends. I can’t wait to meet everybody face-to-face and to enjoy the committee’s events together!
Olivia Welsh
Academic Events Officer
I’m a second year Politics and International Relations with French student and I am this year’s academic events organiser. My priority is to create inspiring and captivating events. I aim to organise talks with guest speakers on a broad range of topics such as: Environmentalism and the World of Politics on a national and international level. Events are a great way of meeting new friends and contacts, so be sure to get involved!
As the world is opening up and life is returning to a new normality, I cannot wait for my role this year. Feel free to get in contact with any suggestions or questions!
Ellen Hartney
Academic Families Coordinator
Hi everyone, I am Ellen and I am a third year Politics and International Relations student and this year I will be taking over the role of Academic Families Coordinator.
It is essential that we continue to ensure that every single student has access to help, that their concerns are addressed and that their desires and hopes are realised. Academic Families has already achieved so much by enabling students to form new connections with fellow students and has been vital in helping to forge a line of communication with the department. And this is something we want to ensure continues to flourish! I am so excited to see what this next academic year has in store for us all and I hope that Academic Families can provide a safe space for all students to access the support they need but also unearth their passions too.
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