Jayden Leong

I have always believed there is a difference between being given a voice and actually having a say.

During my time in student leadership, I was frustrated by how easily problems could be ignored for months, only to become urgent when someone was finally held accountable. It made me realise how easily leadership can become reactive: responding when something goes wrong, rather than taking responsibility for making things better in the first place.

I do not want to be the person who waits for a problem to escalate before doing something about it.

As a ChemEng student, I will experience the same lectures, assessments and academic pressures as the rest of our cohort. If lecture content moves too quickly, notes arrive too late to be useful, or assessment expectations are unclear, I want to do more than acknowledge the frustration. I want to understand the issue, bring forward specific examples and make a case to staff for what could change.

Raising an issue is only half the job. I want students to know what was discussed, how staff responded and what happens next. If a suggestion is rejected, I want to understand why.

I am not expecting to get my way every time. But I believe representing people means being willing to question decisions when there is a reason to do so, regardless of who made them.

I am not standing just to have a say. I am standing to help make sure the rest of us do too.