“It’s great that the university is so open to being held accountable, and that they see student critique as valuable.”
During her time at Greenwich, Zoë Campbell has been able to achieve a lot. Graduating in 2020 with a BA in Criminology, Zoë has continued making positive changes after being voted in as a Greenwich Students’ Union (GSU) Officer for the 2020/21 academic year. She has continued in the role for the 2021/22 academic year also.
Student representation is something that has always been extremely important to Zoë, and this is reflected in her attitude to her time at university, the roll call of activities and opportunities she took on during her studies, and her plans for life after Greenwich. “My roles have taught me that I have a drive to represent and support people, and that I actually am capable of making a change.” Zoë was an active student representative through her role as a Faculty Officer for Liberal Arts and Sciences, and has also been Vice-Captain of the Women’s Basketball team.
Outside of Greenwich, Zoë sits on Transport for London’s (TfL) Youth Panel as Diversity and Inclusion Champion. She admits that she stumbled across the TfL opportunity by chance: “My natural instinct is to just apply for any volunteering opportunity I find, because I know it will be fun and I’ll be able to bring some new perspectives.” Through this role, Zoë continues to work hard to champion “how diverse young Londoners are, and how important it is to consider the way the world works for other people”.
One of Zoë’s proudest achievements to date was winning Faculty Officer of the Year at 2019’s Student Led Teaching Awards. “Winning made me realise that people actually do see what I’m doing, and that they appreciate my work. I do these roles because it needs doing, and I want to help as much as I can.” As a Faculty Officer, Zoë worked hard on a number of issues including access to student accommodation during exams. “Seeing the implementation of my work feels like such an achievement: knowing that someone might have an easier time than I did, that’s why I do these roles.”
Looking towards the future, Zoë wants to continue making a positive difference to the people around her. “I’d love to carry on working in representation roles after I finish as GSU Officer. I might spend a few years working in students’ unions, because there’s such a lovely energy – being able to help students, empower them, and be inspired.”
As part of the 2020 cohort of graduating students, Zoë was one of thousands who finished their degree during the UK national lockdown, and she began her GSU role while the University was still operating remotely. “[During] lockdown, I definitely missed the feeling of walking into Dreadnought and just seeing students doing their thing.”
She has some advice for any peers who may be stepping into uncertain and unchartered waters: “I’d say look at what you can do now – take advantage of the way things have changed due to lockdown – and take advantage of the fact that employers are looking for fresh minds to help them adapt to the current state of the world. You have the skills – if in doubt just jump in and test yourself, you’ll be surprised what you’re capable of.”
