Hi everyone, 

My name is Rojo (They/them) and I am standing for the position as the LGBT+ Rep. As this will be my first year running and my first year at ARU where I will be studying Psychology with a Foundation year. 

Before moving to Cambridge and attending ARU, I was the sole member of the Diversity and Inclusion Team at a large insurance company, Royal and Sun Alliance. When I was appointed this role, I held no previous training or expeirce and was left on my own. So, the first thing I did was speak to everyone. From staff to managers. This allowed me to find out a few things.
 
 1: What people expected from me.
 2: What I needed to do to make the workplace more inclusive.
 3: Who can help me make any changes that were needed.

After gathering as much information as I could, I set out a plan and started on making the workplace more inclusive. One of the things I found out was anyone that was an LGBTQ+ or was BAME employee, they were less likely to have an opportunity to enhance their career. I then set out to change this in the workplace. I met with managers, HR and the CEO of the company to get this in motion. Before I knew it, other sites around the UK followed in suit. They ran the same surveys I did and started the same process. 
 
By the end of the two years in the role I had managed to set out the following:
 
 1: Set up monthly events around Diversity and Inclusion – virtual and in person.
 2: Set up a monthly meeting for individuals to safe air any concerns they had.
 3: Turn 19 of the 22 toilets to be gender inclusive.
 4: Have every manage partake in Diversity and Inclusive training, to make sure they were confident to set a safe and equal environment for all.
 5: Held our first, month-long, Pride event.
 6: Set up monthly mental health drop-ins for all staff.

Those were just some of the things I managed to achieve from the role. I also worked with individuals with any issues they may have had in the workplace, to help resolve these.

I hope you can see from the above what I can bring to the role. Not only do I have previous experience, but I am also confident, empathic, understanding and most importantly, I listen.

Thank you for taking the time in considering me for this role. I hope to see around campus or online.

Rojo