My name is Emma Carlen. I’ve been in Aberdeen studying Psychology since 2008, I am the President of the Aberdeen University Dance Society and I am also involved in the AUSA Societies Committee as an Ordinary Member.
In my spare time I spend my time dancing, planning, organising and attending events for the Dance Society.
Doing events for the Dance Society involves a lot of spare time! We have several large events during the course of the year, our biggest ones being Thrill the World and our annual end of the year show, both involving several hundreds of dancers and spectators between them. Getting the appropriate venues and sponsors is also a big part of planning a successful event, so going to venues and meeting with managers is a big part of this process. I also do all my dance classes with the society which holds an average of 20-30 classes every week, so there’s plenty to choose from! Other than that the Dance Society involves an excessive amount of fun (…and sweat!)
When I came to Aberdeen I knew AUSA offered a variety of societies. After going to the Freshers Fayre some of them caught my eye more than others, including the Dance Society which was much smaller at that time. I actually had a couple of friends getting involved in the Dance Society before me who encouraged me to come along and start dancing.
I would say that the Dance Society is definitely one of the most valuable additions to my personal life here in Aberdeen. Joining the Dance Society immediately got me to be part of this extended family of the most amazing people. There is no end to the benefits of being part of the Dance Society.
I started off as a regular student in the society, going to dance classes every week taught by volunteer students. That in itself is enough to make you fall in love with the Dance Society forever. Not only do you get to meet amazing people, you also get the chance to be involved in something big and the chance to perform and do all sorts of great events such as dance flashmobs, performances and competitions.
After the first semester I got involved in the committee as a volunteer dance tutor which has opened a number of doors for me in terms of getting recognition for the work I am doing. All the tutors in the Dance Society are student volunteers, working alongside their degrees to do classes, choreographies and show pieces for the society.
After two years teaching in the society, I was elected President which is probably the most rewarding thing I have done in my life. It gave me a chance to get even more involved in the Dance Society in order to push myself and the society even further, and give even more back to all the students of Aberdeen University.
I started logging my hours with the MV award and after that with the SA award with the Student Association. After the first summer of being President, creating a brand new website and a whole new repertoire for the Dance Society, sponsors, venues and events, I quickly found myself getting up to the 200 hour maximum of the MV award. Since I was nowhere near finished with my work for the society I continued logging my hours with the SA Award, currently sitting at 2098 hours. The MV and SA Awards are a really great way to get student volunteers recognition for the hard work they put into societies and student activities every day.
Chocolate. Or taking naps in the middle of the day!
If you want to be a volunteer dance tutor like Emma,look under “new opportunities this month” on the volunteering page and follow the instructions on how to register your interest. There are also over 170 other opportunities available too and information on the Awards Emma mentioned. Any queries, email volunteering@abdn.ac.uk