Josh Williams (BA Political Science and International Relations, 2019)

What motivated you to run for the position of Guild President?

If I’m honest, I just wanted to help. I’d been active across campus, through societies, sports clubs, volunteering and my studies, and kept hearing the same challenges and concerns raised by students’ time and again.

What opened my mind though was my experience as President of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Society. Alongside some incredible friends, we created the society to ‘fill the gap’, providing a peer-led, safe space where students could share openly, support one another and advocate for better access to welfare services. I’ll never forget our first ‘Tea and Talk’ event – the queue stretched down the corridor! That moment made me think, if we can create this kind of impact as students, what more could we achieve with the Guild’s platform behind us?

What lessons did you learn in your role that have been valuable in your career?

Being Guild President was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, for which I’m incredibly grateful. The real impact, though, came from working in partnership with a great team of officers. We supported one another, challenged each other and genuinely cared about the work we were doing. That culture of collaboration and sense of shared ownership created momentum and trust, and we achieved far more together than we could have alone.

That experience shaped how I approach leadership today: being genuinely curious about people, their ideas and their lives, championing collaboration and always retaining the belief that diverse perspectives drive both innovation and long-term impact.

What do you consider your biggest achievement during your time as Guild President?

Two initiatives stand out: supporting care-experienced students and launching the Black Voices campaign. We achieved meaningful policy change for care-experienced students, strengthening their access to support and embedding their needs into university processes. And through Black Voices, we launched a campaign to amplify Black student perspectives, foster belonging and drive real engagement. It led to the most diverse election turnout in the Guild’s history, which alone was so exciting, but it’s the aftermath of which I am most proud. A campaign is only as strong as its leaders, and I’ve been overjoyed to see it go from strength-to-strength year on year, evolving to meet the current needs of students while retaining its founding purpose.

Can you share a memorable, funny, or poignant story from your time as Guild President?

As a Brummie, I cared deeply about student life at the University, but also about the wider city. One project that stands out was the relaunch of One City, a partnership between all of Birmingham’s student unions.

We brought together student leaders from across the city for a conference to share challenges, exchange best practice and work on joint solutions. It felt really powerful to be part of something so collaborative and forward-thinking. In a fun twist, my sister, one of my biggest champions, was also in the room representing another university. That experience really stayed with me. It showed how much can be achieved when people come together with a shared purpose. The impact grows when we stand side by side.

What advice would you give to current and future Guild officers?

There is no one like you and that’s your superpower. In all of Birmingham and beyond, you are the only you there is and ever will be. Don’t shrink yourself. Stand tall, own your power and know that you are enough exactly as you are.

You won’t get everything right and that’s okay. But if you lead with heart, stay grounded in your values and surround yourself with people who lift you up, you’ll make more of a difference than you can imagine.