Why join a society?

Joining societies has really helped me settle in at university, meet friends, and improve my career prospects.

Most subjects at UoB have a related society that is not exclusively for students who study said subject. These societies are a good opportunity to meet people who study the same or similar subjects as you or have similar interests. I study Policy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and I have been a part of the Politics society since my first year. Here, I have attended bar crawls and balls where I have met friends as well as have attended guest speaker events as advertised by the society, such as by Andrew Mitchell MP or Liam Byrne MP, and more recently one by Francesca Albanese, a UN rapporteur.

I have also joined societies to help me with my future career. For context, working in marketing and PR was something that interested me at the start of my second year. Therefore, after joining the Marketing Society and attending guest speaker sessions led by PR agencies and graduates who work in the industry, I was inspired to apply for internships and have since been successful in gaining work experience as a result of the advice I gained. These opportunities have, therefore, considerably increased my employability.

Societies are somewhere you can build and develop valuable connections, both with your future career in mind and in regards to meeting friends. I have also joined a few sports societies, including dodgeball, politics netball, and a social running society, where I had so much fun on top of meeting some of my closest friends.