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*taken from the First Year Rep handover document, written by Harry Toyé at the end of the 2019/20 academic year*

Introduction

The role of First Year Representative is an extremely rewarding and worthwhile role. It offers an amazing opportunity to give back to the society whilst also acting as a great introduction to what having a committee role is like and a great springboard for future committee roles.

What is expected of you?

• You will be the go-to person for any newbies to the society. You need to be a friendly and approachable character should they want to voice any concerns, criticisms or suggestions, which you can then pass on to the rest of the committee.

• Although it is by no means an ‘easy’ role, it is one of the committee roles with the lower workload. For this reason, there might be certain jobs over the course of your time in the committee that fall to you. For example, this year, myself and Caitlin (who had the role of Open Seat) arranged the Mental Health Tea charity event. I also had to apply on the society’s behalf for a Riley Award.

• Leading on from this, in a more general sense, the position entails being a productive, co-operative and friendly member of the committee. Music Theatre requires a lot of organisation, so it is just generally required that you are prepared to help out and work well with others – being part of such a committee is extremely rewarding!

Tips

• The biggest tip I can give is to translate your passion for the society into the role. Think back to how you (and everyone else who has ever joined the society) felt when you arrived at your first audition or rehearsal not knowing anybody. This empathy will spur you on to be a great FYR!

• Engage with the newbies – I was lucky enough to be involved with two MT shows after I was elected for the role. With both shows, after the first few rehearsals, I made sure to message them asking how they were finding it etc. – it goes a long way. I also made an anonymous survey and put it on the Facebook socials page asking some questions about the experiences of our society members when they were newbies.

• Be approachable and friendly – amongst others I would say that these are the two most important attributes that a First Year Representative can have. Music Theatre is an extremely friendly and inclusive society, so play your part in that!