OUR LEADERS
- 2nd and 3rd year students
- Volunteers
- Trained & equipped
- Supervised & observed
- Training: Complete initial online training, training day and post-meeting
- Level of commitment: Attend weekly or fortnightly PASS session (usually 1 hour); attend debrief session with Ambassadors/Supervisor when arranged
- Action in sessions: Usually in teams of 2 Leaders: facilitate the discussions; be supportive of students’ problems; signpost students to relevant help; take attendance for evaluation work; work with another PASS Leader; give students confidence to ask questions at PASS sessions and in lectures
- Action out of sessions: email/contact PASS group to remind students of session time/ location; ask students if there are specifics they’d like to cover; suggest topics of discussion that caused problems last year; keep in contact with your PASS Leader partner
- What you WON’T do: give any answers to academic questions or coursework; take the place of a lecturer
- Personal qualities: trustworthy, non judgmental, a team player, enthusiastic, friendly, approachable, a role model (not perfect but survived first year!)
What support is available for Leaders?
PASS leaders have regular contact with staff including debriefing sessions; additional training and support if required; recognition and reward (certificate of training and certificate of skills gained from the process, use of Supervisor/PASS team as a reference).
- Academic: Revision of course material, working with other students; sharing knowledge and understanding; asking ‘intelligent questions’
- Future employment: Great for your CV; shows a multitude of transferable skills including communication skills, responsibility, creativity and interpersonal skills
- Leadership: Learn and develop facilitation skills, effective communication, problem solving and the opportunity to network with other leaders across the university
- Faculty relationships/mentoring: Work with staff; receive recognition and reward; develop interpersonal skills such as empathising with others; providing feedback to others
- Life skills: Gaining more self confidence, making new friends in your subject area, improving team work and leadership skills.
What do previous Leaders think?
“Being a PASS Leader not only meant that I could help others, but it really helped me to consolidate some of my learning from first year by going over the content of those assignments again.”
“I absolutely loved my time as a PASS Leader! I got to choose the other Leader I worked with, so me and my friend ran our sessions together. We planned together, chose fun activities and worked out timings that fit with the both of us and our PASS group.”
“You get to see PASS in a totally different way when you’re the one leading it and not attending. I bonded really well with my group and they seemed genuinely grateful that myself and my partner ran our session each week. We kept up to date with what they wanted to cover each week through a Facebook group.”
“Having PASS on my CV really helps with job interviews – I can talk about how I volunteered my time and gained skills in planning, organising, leadership and facilitation. The Conference day was such a fun experience to receive training and meant that I could meet loads of other people training to be Leaders, and Leaders from last year too.”
“At first, I didn’t know if I wanted to commit to being a Leader as I was worried it would get in the way of second year. After the training day in September, I realised that I’d be planning with my PASS Leader partner and not on my own, and that we could run sessions as often as we felt comfortable. We settled on one hour per week for sessions and met with our PASS Ambassador every few weeks to catch up and get advice. I’m so glad I had this experience and will definitely be a PASS Leader again in my third year!”