Your VP for Postgraduate Experience candidates: Nelly Luckett

Juliette Moisan 9 March 2021

Image by: Nelly Luckett

Nelly Luckett is running for VP of postgraduate experience. She is doing her Master’s in Theater Making at Kent.

Nelly said that her first motivation for running in the election is that she got “kind of addicted to the fact that you can make a difference on the things that people find annoying on a day-to-day basis.”

She has been working with Student Unions for almost four years, both her former university, and at Kent: she’s been a campus executive, a student trustee on the Trustee board and is doing work for the disability network.

“I’ve basically done the full-time officer role without being paid to do it at my previous Uni.”

Nelly said that she felt that a lot of the day-to-day issues students raise are things that the union could easily undertake and that required very easy fixes, so these would be among her first goals if elected.

She feels that there is “such a focus has been put on the wider, more national things, but we also have to focus on the smaller things that affect the daily lives of students”.

The topic of accessibility was also discussed: while she acknowledges that things are being done, the Uni doesn’t include accessibility in all their choices and that needs to change.

Nelly is calling for a more diverse team to be able to represent all students, because “you can’t understand the struggles of people without being in their shoes and you can’t speak on their behalf.”

She is also currently working with the accessibility network to have the Uni take into account accessibility when doing plans.

Nelly also stressed that her disability is not a hindrance, but instead it means she has to be “so much more organized and very aware of timetabling issues”, and it allows her to “see things in a way that is different from other students”.

When talking about the other campuses, she noted the fact that Medway and internationally based students often feel disengaged from what is going on in the university.

Nelly said she’d like to “be able to travel to the Paris and Brussels campuses when travelling is allowed”, as well as have more opportunities to interact with the officers from these campuses.

Covid has also taken a hard toll on international students, either stuck at home with borders closed or unable to leave the campus.

Nelly said she regrets that international students have had little communication with Pat and that the communication led by the Uni was often vague.

Finally, when talking about the endorsement system, she said she found it “difficult and often unfair”, as people with power endorsing candidates can really sway students and transform the election.

Nelly added that despite the fact that all candidates have very different qualities and experiences, they also sometimes lack others, and it is difficult to take promises at face value.

However, she did stress that she knew who she wouldn’t be voting for, saying that she doesn’t “agree with the way they’ve lead their campaign”.

Analysis

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of InQuire Media

Nelly is a very enthusiastic candidate, with a lot of ideas and teeming with dynamism. Her ideas are interesting and well-thought-of and, if she manages to carry them out, they could lead to very positive changes. Her approach to teamwork is also laudable, she clearly wants to create a positive framework in which everyone is given a voice, including all the candidates.

All in all, I believe Nelly is a very strong contender and she would be a great fit to represent the students.