Read Harry's blog on getting involved in your community

Every University of Liverpool Hall of Residence has a Halls Student Committee. Their purpose is to set up social events for residents.

A little bit of context about myself. I’m Harry Denton, soon to be a second year Accounting and Finance student who was a member of Greenbank HSC last year. So, I’m writing this as a self-reflection on my experience while hopefully persuading you to join from the get-go as I did.

Build your community

University halls are home to hundreds, or in the case of Crown and Greenbank, over a thousand students. And, come September, most of these people will not know each other. HSC events help bring people together and foster a sense of community in the halls, making them feel like more than a long-term hotel.

Only a fraction of these people will be in their HSC and so being one of those people allows you to be in the knowhow about what is happening in your halls. It helps you to become an active part in the community where you have a say in what events happen.

From my experience, the events we hosted included seasonal, free of charge events for Halloween, Christmas and Lunar New Year where we’d lavishly decorate Greenbank’s lounge and organise food and drinks. The big event is the Summer Carnival and this year Greenbank HSC organised games, prizes, inflatables and lots of food such as hot dogs, nachos and crepes using the yearly HSC budget. Some ideas for smaller events I used are a craft night (often called “Paint and Sip”) as well as board games and movie nights.

Make new friends

Chances are, in September, you won’t know anyone in Liverpool. Freshers’ Week is an excellent time to meet new people but beyond then, when the realisation that going to university involves- studying- kicks in, joining your HSC just after can lead to stronger friendships forming like I experienced, you get to meet like-minded people, whom you can spit ball ideas and order a comical number of decorations with- an immediate icebreaker right there.

As HSCs are often run by RAs, you will also get to chat with mature PhD students and see a different perspective of university life that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. They also provide year-long support and assist with the processes of setting up the events.

The Guild of Students award ceremony in May offers a great chance to get to meet members of different HSCs.

Improve your employability

Being a member of your HSC earns you HEAR accreditation which highlights what else you did at university outside of your studies. It looks good to an employer, especially if you are unable to or don’t have the time for a part time job. It shows how proactive you are in going out of your way to make your community stronger. To get this, you only need to attend a couple of meetings and attend training so while it is low commitment, you get from the HSC what you put into it. So, if you help or even just attend the events, you get to see the positive change and impact you will have made.

Click here to read more about joining your HSC!

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