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Hi folks, I’m Niamh and I’m hoping to be LUUHC’s greatest (and first) ever transport sec! I was new to the club, and to Leeds, in September, and it has been a huge part of making my first year at Uni amazing. Like all of us, I’m happiest in the hills, and having grown up in an outdoorsy family in the Peak District, I’ve been lucky enough to have spent a lot of time in the mountains, both around the UK and abroad.




Joining the club has been frankly mind-blowing, to find so many people who are as keen as I am to get outside. No matter if it involves getting up early, driving 7 hours to Scotland, or getting bombarded by bad weather, the enthusiasm in this club is unbeatable. Between weekend trips, Sunday hikes, leader training and socials, I’ve made so many great memories with you all, and I can't wait to spend the next few years making more!




I’m running for committee because I’ve been so inspired by how much time, dedication and love this year's committee, leaders and drivers have put into the club. It would be a privilege to contribute any skills I have, to help LUUHC keep bringing as much joy to others as it has done to me.




Transport sec is a new role, and I want to make it as useful as possible. I’ll be working with our Trip Sec, drivers and (sigh) the Union, booking vehicles, and generally making sure we can get where we need to go!
I’m a very organised and reliable person, so I’d be happy to take this faffy admin off our Trip Sec’s shoulders. Besides, I’ll be on every trip and hike that I can, so you could say I’ve got a personal interest in making sure we’ve got transport.




From an environmental standpoint, I’ll make sure the vehicles we use are no bigger than they need to be, so we can keep our carbon emissions to a minimum. I’ll also unabashedly tell *certain* coach drivers not to sit in the car park with their engine on for the whole darn Sunday.




In summary, I’m confident I can keep this show on the road for the next year. I’ll be as involved as possible, and make sure every member finds the club as welcoming and inclusive as I have, so feel free to drop me a vote! :)

I moved to Leeds in September 2021, and to say it was on a whim would be an understatement. I finished my undergrad at Birmingham last summer (History, Politics, and *International Studies*) and rather than take the usual ‘panic’ masters approach and stay there, I decided to move to a completely new city I’d only visited once, a city where I didn’t know anyone, and take masters degree in a subject area which I’m fairly certain was only credited on my degree transcript because of an admin mistake.

However, this was probably one of the best decisions I have made. I completely fell in love with the city and this university, and I am taking as many steps as possible in order to stay here for at least the next year. This has partly (mostly) been impacted by the hiking club and my appetite to remain an active member for the foreseeable future. Consider I didn’t join the club with ambition of being on committee, nor the expectation to remain a member after my degree was over, and I’m now motivated to stay and be on committee, I think speaks volumes about the characteristics of club and its members. This is the best club in the best city.

From Duke of Edinburgh Award in the Lincolnshire Wolds and the Peak District to backpacking the Indian Himalayas and attending a sizeable amount of club trips, I have plenty of experience and admiration for the hills and mountains in all types of conditions. I am a longtime Liverpool F.C. fan and I think 'You'll Never Walk Alone'; has extra meaning in the hiking club. I have found this club to be one of the most accessible and easy ways to continue this hobby whilst living in a city – all credit and thanks to committee, leaders, and drivers for making this possible this year.

I know we all like to use out feet in this club, but wheels are just as imperative. Some might argue that transport is the most important factor that goes into a Leeds University Union Hiking Club trip. For the purpose of this election – so do I. As such, I plan to speak on behalf of and for all forms of internal combustion (any drunken comments you may have heard about my plans to pedestrianize Leeds city centre, the Headrow and Otley Road are for the time being, on hold).

As some of you may know I’m a bit of a Formula 1 fan, and no sport is perhaps more logistically challenging than F1. Inspired by this, I will channel an inner DHL to liaise between the trip sec, the union, et al in order to provide sufficient cars, vans, coaches etc for all the club trips. It’s your word against mine vis-à-vis my organisational skills, but I’m pretty good at emailing and organisation. I own both an academic planner and a journal which I frequently wipe the dust off of.

I must add that I am unapologetically environmental, and I think it is important for the club to be too. Any conversations about the ways the club can have a positive impact on the environment whilst going about our activities are ones I want to have and bring to committee. Leave no trace is something I’m passionate about and I’m sure we are all aware of and keep in mind whenever we’re out hiking, but carbon is an invisible trace we’re all carrying too. Transport is naturally one of the clubs' main polluters so I think it’s important that we recognise this and think about ways the club might offset and neutralise some of our miles. In my spare time I volunteer locally with a group who are working to combat climate change, offset carbon in Leeds and run community groups to get them involved with shaping local government policy and initiatives. With this in mind, it would be nice to get the club involved.

I have found it surprising but inspiring to see how many members the club has, and how many of them are so active and recognisable on hikes, weekend trips and at socials. I’m keen to work on committee to continue to keep members feeling welcome and excited about club activities and represent how great the club is to everyone else.
Ewan