I’m Vera, and was President for the Jacari society at the University of Bristol for the 20/21 academic year. I decided to get involved with Jacari because of the real impact they make on reducing educational inequality. Joining Jacari provided the opportunity for me to tutor within the Bristol community, and meet other like-minded volunteers in the society.
Prior to joining Jacari, I had no experience tutoring and was a little nervous about tutoring my pupil. Fortunately, Jacari offered valuable induction and training sessions which helped ease my fears of conducting lessons.
It was incredibly heartwarming to not only witness my pupil's academic progress as the weeks went by, but also how excited and confident she became for each lesson!
I decided to run for President because the role offered the opportunity to be develop greater insight to Jacari as an organisation while being at the forefront of committee management and decision-making. As President, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to meet and work with other amazing committee members to recruit and support our volunteers throughout the year. One of the biggest challenges the committee faced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic was the shift towards remote learning and engagement. As tutoring moved online, we strived to identify innovative means to respond to the needs of our pupils and volunteers.
With the help of Jacari Bristol's Coordinators Fleur and Anna, our Teaching Officers Polly and Antonia facilitated numerous teaching workshops and put together a comprehensive teaching package which increased the availability of resources for our volunteer tutors. Our Publicity Officers Ella and Ed also regularly shared tips on social media to ensure that our volunteers were well prepared as they explored online tutoring for the first time.
Beyond tutoring, our Volunteer Support Officer Ria established a family chat system for all volunteers at the University of Bristol. This gave volunteers the opportunity to meet other society members, and provide them an additional layer of support within the society. While it was a little unfortunate that the committee and volunteers were unable to meet face to face this year, it was wonderful to witness the continuous support our volunteers offered to the Bristol community.
As I look back on my experience leading the committee for the past year, it has been nothing short of an incredible learning experience leading the society. I’d like to thank my committee members for their contributions and support, and our wonderful Coordinators Fleur and Anna for their guidance to the committee in our endeavours.
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