Thursday, 05 March 2009

  • 2009/10 CSS Committee Candidates' Manifestos
    EXTERNAL SECRETARY


    Candy Chu

    Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Candy Chu and I’m a first year Pharmacy student. I am glad to be standing here tonight presenting my speech on the election of the external secretary. I am sure that being nominated for this position will become a part of many challenging experiences in my life.

    The Chinese Society is an important part of university life, as it is the heart centre for all the Chinese to get involved in the social networks and welfare. That’s also the main reason that has strongly persuaded me to get involved. I believe that the role of an External Secretary requires many skills including time management, organisational skills, word processing and more importantly a sense of responsilbility. Undoubtedly, I am able to offer word processing skills and I enjoy dealing with secretarial works. I believe I possess all these skills, as I was nominated to be the class monitor and president, by teachers and students in class though out years of my high school life. I was also the secretary for my class to organise the Fun Fair and the Open Day.

    In addition, I would describe an External Secretary as the hands of the organisation. He/She not only participates in the communications between the committee members and society members that will join us every year and he/she is also involved in communicating with other universities. Therefore, I think an External Secretary should be outgoing, efficient, responsible, able to cope under pressure and have good time management skills and I would definitely say that these are all qualities I have. In my past experiences, I have worked as secretary and a researcher in an accounting office and public transport organisation in the summer. Both these positions have enhanced my skills in working as a team, communicating with different people and gaining practical experience of the world of work.

    Besides talking about how good we can organising activities for our Chinese Society members, team spirit will be the most important point of all in determining the success of the society. I was a girl scout for thirteen years and achieved the silver award for the ‘Hong Kong Award for Young People’. This prestigious award identifies my ability to overcome challenges and work with others as a part of a team. As a consequence, I have become an international exchange scout to both Japan and Beijing. These privileged experiences and aspects of boarding school have improved my interpersonal communication skills, listening skills and broadened my outlook on life. As a result I have built up my confidence and have become much more independent and self-reliant.

    To conclude, I have the passion to be the External Secretary. I do believe that my personality and motivation will serve the Chinese community to be the best. I am ready to contribute my knowledge and experiences to promote the social bonding, as well as the communication between itself and the society members and also to maximize the communicative channels for our society members to enjoy the welfares. I hope that I can have an opportunity to serve our Chinese Society next year.

    Thank you for your time and consideration.



    Beatrice Yau

     Name:              Beatrice Yau
    Course Title:  Year 1 in International Management and Modern Languages (French)
    Applied Post:    External Secretary

    The Chinese Students Society has been a supportive platform in helping me integrate into my first year at university.  I appreciate their immense effort in organising various cultural and social events and I was delighted to participate in them, especially as an MC in the annual Variety Show.  Therefore, in response to their excellent performance, I would like to stand for the post of External Secretary to further promote the Chinese culture as well as the Society’s well-being.

    Roles and Responsibilities as an External Secretary

    -          Strengthen the relationship with various entities (i.e. societies within the University of Bath as well as the Chinese Students Society at other universities), which have been established by the Public Relations Officer (PR);

    -          Formalise in writing, the deals made in various occasions and ensure they are being carried out effectively and efficiently;

    -          Book rooms for events held both within and outside the University;

    -          Assist in social and cultural event organisations;

    -          Act as a support function for the PR as well as for the Society in terms of marketing.


    Working Experience

    Profitunity!, Ernst & Young, UK                                                In Progress
    Managing Director, Carpe Diem

    I have learnt to prepare the business proposal for my team—this will contribute in delineating deals made by the PR in various events.  Marketing skills gained from this competition will also enable me to assist the PR and the Society as a whole. 

    Zebra Strategic Outsource Solutions Ltd, Hong Kong              Jul 2008 – Aug 2008
    Temporary Clerk

    As the headhunter’s assistant, my perspicacious responsiveness in dealing with secretarial and administrative matters can help solve ad-hoc requests.

    St Mary’s School, Calne, UK                                          Sep 2007 – June 2008
    Head of Music

    My competency in communication as well as being detail-oriented has facilitated the working process within the Music Department.  I believe I can hone the affiliation between our Society and any external contacts.


    I believe my enthusiasm, determination and vision have proven myself to be a suitable candidate for the post as an External Secretary for the Chinese Students Society next year.  I need your support! Please vote for me, Beatrice Yau, for External Secretary. Thank You.



    Karen Yau

    Hello everybody. My name is Karen and I'm currently a first year Mathematics student here at the University of Bath.
    It is my pleasure to be here tonight competing for the Chinese Students’ Society external secretary position.

    I am sure many of you may not be familiar with me, but I am capable of accepting this post, since the whole idea is not about how popular you are but whether or not you could manage your roles and responsibilities wisely and effectively.

    I understand that my role would be to promote the society by means of communications and generally deliver the messages from the society across to members and those who we would be in collaboration with.

    Even in a real life scenario, trust is the key to secure a good relationship with others so this role would require a person who is honest and dependable. I have faith that my past experience of being a school prefect would enable me to perform well in this position.

    Furthermore, I believe that I could manage this role responsibly since I always work to detail with my tasks to ensure that the most information is distributed in a user friendly way and that others would be reassured and comfortable to be working with us. This also acts as a promotion to allow public to see the trustworthy reputation of the society.

    Organisation is also essential for this post and I am confident that I can maintain the standards because naturally, I ensure that everything is planned and done correctly. During my A-levels, my school did not offer Further Mathematics so I self studied through the course which allowed me to develop my organisation and time keeping skills.

    Also, if I have a task to do, I will follow instructions and complete it to the best of my effort.  However this does not mean that I would not contribute my ideas and feedback. I am fully aware that teamwork and cooperation is an essential criterion for the society to operate smoothly and successfully.  I am more than willing to work together with others to give everybody a worthwhile experience.  This includes working with the other members of the committee and assisting the Public Relation by delivering her messages to and from members of the society and other organizations.

    Good communication skills will be required to run this position, not just verbally but also written. In my old school, I have made announcements through the loudspeaker system which allowed me to develop these skills.

    Having cooperated with a variety of different people from children to pensioners, Chinese to English has made me realise that no matter how different you may be we all still seek the same thing from each other- loyalty and consideration. I can guarantee that these criteria would not be overlooked as I conscientiously listen to others opinions.

    Having been brought up to the Chinese customs in a western country has allowed me to acquire a broad knowledge of how the different cultures can build a bridge through understanding each other and having the passion to learn more about one another.

    The Chinese Students’ Society operates similarly. With devotion and effort, we could bring together people from different backgrounds who share the same interest- learning about the Chinese tradition.

    Finally, I thank you all for your time and patience and I hope to serve you in the coming future as the external secretary of the society. Also I wish all other participants the best of luck tonight.

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