Name: George Walter

Course: MSc Artificial Intelligence and Big Data

Volunteer Role: Anime and Manga Society President

"I really enjoy bringing people with a common interest together and seeing people make new friends"

What are your main duties and how do they benefit others?

My main duties as President of the Anime and Manga Society are overseeing the running of the society and making sure we are creating a fun and inclusive environment for our members. I work with the rest of the committee to have regular meetings, plan events, advertise our society, and colloborate on events with other societies. This ensures our members can have a great experience being part of our society!

What have you enjoyed most about volunteering?

I love the opportunity it gives me to meet other people with similar interests and how this is possible for the members of my society too. I really enjoy bringing people with a common interest together and seeing people make new friends.

What skills have you learnt and used during your volunteering?

Obviosuly teamwork, especially finding a way to incorporate everyone's ideas and making them feel included in the decision making process. Running the society has also given me an insight into advertising an organisation, running successful events, and managing funds. Lastly, I have learnt how to listen and improve upon feedback.

What are your future career aspirations?

I want to be a software engineer, specifically working with machine learning and other forms of artificial intelligence.

What inspires you to volunteer?

I loved being part of the Anime and Manga Society when I first started university; it was fun meeting people who had a similar interest that is somewhat niche. I had a lot of ideas for how it could be made even better so I jumped at the chance to start volunteering on the committee.

What is your favourite volunteering memory?

Running the stall at the fresher's fair. I loved talking about our society to new students. Having the chance to meet all the new students interested in joining in our society and chat to them about anime was really fun!

Why do you love volunteering?

I used to be pretty shy and reclusive during secondary school. I wanted to change this at university and volunteering as a committee member definitely helped me to go out, meet people, and make new friends.