It gives us great pleasure to formally introduce ourselves as this year’s ESN UK National Board! We would like to take this opportunity to thank the former National Board for their hard work and introduce ourselves and our outcomes for the year to all our section members.

 

President: Elena Saldaña Quintans

My name is Elena and I am an International Business Management student at Oxford Brookes University. In my second year I went on exchange to Thailand and Australia and I had the best time of my life, which is why I decided to join ESN Oxford Brookes as President in September of 2014. I wanted to promote exchange possibilities to other students and to make sure that Erasmus students in Brookes had an experience to remember. However, I learnt so much by joining ESN, and met so many incredible people, that I decided to take it further and apply to become ESN UK President in January 2015.

My role as President consists of three things; firstly, to manage the amazing National Board that we have this year, and make sure that they have all the support they need to be able to carry out their tasks and achieve their objectives. Secondly, to try to get new sections to join the network and help them with the application procedure, basically trying to expand our ESN UK family. Finally, to represent ESN UK to external stakeholders as an advocate for student mobility and local integration.

My email is president@esnuk.org and I'm always happy to receive emails from you guys! Feel free to contact me at any time.

 

Vice President: Heather Sadler

My name is Heather and I am currently enjoying the final few weeks of my degree in French and Spanish, this past year I have enjoyed being an Events Coordinator for ESN Cardiff. I split my Year Abroad between France and Spain, spending 4 months in Caen, Normandy and 5 months in Vic, just north of Barcelona. In both places, I was really looked after by a team of mentors, and I knew I had to get involved with something I got back to the UK. Next year I will be moving to Norwich to study for a PGCE in MFL.

During the next year, I will be aiming to get all the wonderful sections we have in ESN UK sharing their ideas and best practices a lot more than is currently done. I’d like to see better communication between section members, and I’d like to see more coordination with joint events and socials. I will be helping the talented OCs of the next two National Platforms, and if any of our sections are interested in hosting an international event, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at vp@esnuk.org!

I’ll also be the main link between the National Board and the Section Members, so if you have anything to say to us, I’ll always be listening.

 

Secretary:  Meriel Smith

Hi, I’m Meriel and I’m currently studying for a Master’s degree in Governance & Policy at the University of Southampton. I first found out about ESN when I went on Erasmus to Besançon, France which had an amazing ESN local section.  When I returned to England I wanted to make sure other Erasmus students had as much fun as I did, so I joined ESN Southampton. ESN has been a huge part of my two last years at university - I’ve met so many incredible people and travelled to some great places. After two years at the local level (first as Treasurer, then President, of ESN Southampton), I decided to apply to be Secretary at the national level of ESN UK.

As Secretary, my role is to document and keep record of ESN UK’s activities, taking minutes at the National Platforms and for the weekly National Board Skype meetings. I also ensure all our documentation is correct and legally compliant.  

I’m responsible for making sure our statutes are up-to-date and fit for purpose, so my biggest task this year is going to be a comprehensive review and updating of the statutes, as well as creating standing orders for ESN UK. I’m also the NB responsible for the alumni network, so I’ll be setting up a Facebook group, mailing list and LinkedIn group for all local and national board members to join to stay in touch with the network and ESN opportunities.

Don’t hesitate to contact me at secretary@esnuk.org with any questions about statutes or committee meetings, and I look forward to meeting you at the National Platform in September.

 

National Representative:  Oana Dumitrescu

Hey everyone, I’m Oana and I’m a 21 year-old European citizen. I’m originally Romanian, but I’ve been living and studying in the UK for a while now at the University of Southampton. I’ve been in ESN for 2 years and I have to say it’s been the most incredible time of my life due to the amazing friendships I’ve managed to make, the great places and ideas I came across and the incredible amount of non-formal education I was exposed to.

As the National Representative, I will be in charge of making sure that the opinions and interests of ESN UK are clearly heard and taken into consideration on an international level. I will also support the local level by bringing the vast knowledge of ESN international closer to the sections. ESN UK is definitely a network I love and have trust and it’s my biggest honour to represent it this year together with my incredible board colleagues!

If you have any questions feel free to contact me at nr@esunk.org .

 

Treasurer: Laurens Kromme

Hello, I am Laurens Kromme and I am 20 years old. I am from the Netherlands, however I am studying International Business Management in Aberdeen at the Robert Gordon University. I am very internationally orientated and I love to see different cultures uniting, sharing ideas and thoughts.

I am the National Treasurer for this year and I will take care of all ESN UK finances; I will also be involved in all financial decisions that accompany this role. In addition, I am in charge of the Web Shop and the distribution of orders, so I am the person to speak to when it comes to ESNcards. Also, I am responsible for National Partnerships.

If you ever have any questions regarding any financial issues, order distribution, the Web Shop or partnerships, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am always available on Facebook and feel free to add me as a friend. There is only one person in this world with my exact name so it is easy to find me there. In addition, you can contact me through my email treasurer@esnuk.org .

I hope to meet you all sooner or later!

 

Communications Manager: Lucy Jones

Hello! My name is Lucy and I am the Communications and Marketing Manager of ESN UK and I have just finished my fourth and final year of studying French at Cardiff University. Having spent a year in Bordeaux as a language assistant during my Erasmus Year, I returned eager to remain involved with the Erasmus community and so applied to be Secretary of ESN Cardiff. I didn’t realise at the time just how much this decision would change my life!  After attending the NP in Southampton I immediately wanted to get more involved with the network and so volunteered as  National Social Media Coordinator, this position then led to me applying for the Communications and Marketing role which is my current role.

As Communications and Marketing Manager I will be responsible for planning and implementing the communication strategy for ESN UK. This includes overseeing graphics, supporting sections in their communications, managing ESN UK social media accounts, creating publications and most importantly upholding the ESN Visual Identity! During the next year I will be restructuring the newsletter, ensuring sections have access to more communications related resources and producing informational booklets for section use.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you ever have any questions either on Facebook or via email at comms@esnuk.org! I look forward to meeting you all at some point.

 

Webmaster: Lauren Anders

Hi everyone, my name’s Lauren and I’m the new Webmaster of ESN UK! I’m originally from Liverpool but I’m currently based in London finishing off the last few weeks of my Geophysics degree at Imperial College. I went on Erasmus in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and I have to say it was definitely the most interesting, eye-opening and fun year of my life. On returning to the UK, I wanted to stay involved with all things Erasmus and keep the Erasmus spirit alive, so I joined ESN as President of ESN Imperial. I immediately fell in love with the network and am very happy to now have the National Webmaster position at ESN UK.

This year I hope to ensure that every section gets to make the most of all the IT services that our amazing network has to offer. I’ll also be making some video tutorials as well as making some improvements on the buddy scheme tool. This year looks to be very exciting with the upcoming release of the ESNapp!

My email is webmaster@esnuk.org if you have any IT-related queries or would just like to chat. Hope to see you at an ESN UK event soon!