What do you do?

As well as being a Trustee (and having to act like a grown-up far too much!), I look after the Union's media and publications, from Pugwash magazine and Pugwash News/Purple Wednesdays to the UPSU.net website, and Pure FM, as well as having responsibility for making sure the Union's Sabbs and student volunteers have the best chances to promote themselves through our media.

I also sit on a number of committees and executive groups, including the Media Exec. 

What part of your job do you enjoy the most?

Creating new things, and seeing new teams come together as a really strong team; the newspaper team have come from nowhere this year to act as one of the strongest backbones of the Union's media, and the overall numbers of students involved in UPSU Media this year is absolutely amazing.

What successes have you had?

The new Pugwash News/PWs newspaper and Pugwash magazine are both turning out amazing content, and the teams creating and supporting them all work extremely hard.

We also have a web news team who spend a lot of their free time putting more news articles on to UPSU.net than we've ever seen before.

Right at the start of the year I got a proposal for a suite of brand new iMacs approved, and since they arrived they've been the backbone of many of our creations, including the AU Naked Calendar, Boxing and Sporto Dance-Off DVDs, Pugwash News, Pugwash mag, and loads of UPSU.net work, to name a few things - well worth the money I reckon!

Ben Norman has also spent a lot of time working on the STAND training package, which provided a large chunk of media-focused training for our students, too. 

On a personal level, we've just launched the new UPSU JobShop website, which I spent most of my Christmas holidays writing, and so far - touch wood - it hasn't fallen apart or gone horribly wrong, so I count that as another victory for the Union! 

How many of your manifesto pledges have you achieved?

Many of them are done and dusted or in progress - the new iMac suite, new newspaper, more students involved, and more students reading/watching/listening our media output is all a great success.

I've also worked hard to ensure our transparency as an organisation is much greater, with our full Union Council archive and Pugwash back-issues online, both of which let you see what the Union has been up to for the last seven-to-ten years, as well as seeing an explosion in the use of blogs by Sabbs to publicise what the Union is up to. 

There are a couple of pledges I haven't managed to do much towards, including putting on more diverse events, which I hope to be able to work on before the end of this year. Thankfully, the other members of the Sabb team and Union staff have taken up some of the slack there, so all is not lost just yet... ;o) 

What's the most frustrating part of your position?

Red tape, having to work extremely hard to dispel some pretty juicy (and untrue!) rumours about me before I'd even started the job, constructive inertia, people who don't reply to your e-mails, days only being 24 hours long, lack of sleep, and too many good ideas!

Would you recommend the role to other students?

Absolutely, but only if you're prepared to put in the hours (and they're as long as you want to make them), set your aim high, be prepared to shout occasionally to get your voice heard, and - most importantly - make the tea...! 

What was the hardest part about the 2007 elections for you?

All of it - the uncertainty, uncontrollable fear of failure and/or humiliation, all the hard work, my fear of public speaking (see my point about humiliation, above!), and the dodgy photos of me...

... and the best part?

Having a wonderful team of hard-working friends with an endless stream of ideas, enthusiasm, patience and faith in me. Cheers!

In 2008/2009, what will the Sabb team need to work the hardest on?

Separating what's important to the Union and the student experience from the entrenched views to create a bullet-proof strategy which the Union can work towards for the next three-to-five years.

If you could offer your successor one piece of advice, what would it be?

The Union is a wonderful place to work, and as a Sabb you have a huge amount of power and responsibility, but you must make sure you set your goals with the guidance of the Union's staff, and then stick to them!

What does your successor need more than anything else to be successful?

Keep an open mind and a sense of humour and everything else will be all good.

Find out more 

You can also read what Alex had to say about his role and aims at the start of the year on his Sabb page.