Hi my name is Zahra and being a part of students’ unions and the student movement has given me the skills and confidence I have now. I started my journey as someone who wanted to do their part in the community and became a NUS delegate. From that experience I wanted to keep going and became BAME Officer (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic Group Officer), President of the Spoken Word society, Treasurer of various societies and started the first dodgeball sports club at the University of Westminster Students’ Union. With my various dips in lots of student union activities and parts of the university governance/representative systems, I ran and became the University of Westminster Students’ Union President for the last two years. It’s fair to say that the cliché is true, students’ unions changed my life. I have gone on to do lots of other exciting work in the charity sector during my free time which has led me to where I stand now. I am currently starting a role in another students' union where I can take all this knowledge of policy, governance and democracy to good use.

I am very excited to join the Coole Insight Team. I have first-hand experience of how Coole Insight can help sabbatical officers, student union staff members and others to focus on the power of students. The support I received as an officer from Coole Insight has been invaluable to my journey and made me a more confident and knowledgeable individual. The insights, workshops and 1-2-1 support my teams and I have received over the last two years have helped us understand the wider context of national politics and how to navigate the day to day. I look forward to continuing the on-going work and bringing my expertise to the table.