Thank you to all the members of the Student Council 2013-4 who have worked hard to contribute to the smooth-running of the College over the course of the academic year.

Here are some extracts from the Chair of the Student Council’s final speech at the College Meeting on 15th April:

‘I was in the Student Council for the good part of a calendar year and in retrospect I would say that it was an experience that has taught me a great deal about our surroundings.

‘I want to read an e-mail I received last year, 30 minutes after I was elected chair:

“There is a school of thought in management theory that — if you’re in the consumer-facing space building products and services — you’ve got to listen to every customer.  Steve Jobs was one of the first businessmen to say that was a waste of time.  The customers today don’t always know what they want, especially if it’s something they’ve never seen, heard, or touched before.  When it became clear that Apple would come out with a tablet, many were skeptical.  When people heard the name (iPad), it was a joke in the Twitter-sphere for a day.  But when people held one, and used it, it became a ‘must have.’  They didn’t know how they’d previously lived without one.  It became the fastest growing Apple product in its history.  Jobs (and the Apple team) trusted themselves.  Picasso and great artists have done that for centuries.  Jobs was the first in business.”

To me this e-mail did not say act as you wish because you know best, it rather gave me an important lesson on believing in myself and believing in the team I was part of. And I would urge all of you to do the same. The only way the Student Council can thrive is if you believe in the Student Council and if you believe in your role in this community. Your representatives can only be as determined as the people they are representing, this needs to be a give and take relationship with support coming from both sides.

What I am trying to say is that the strength of the Student Council is a little like Tinker Bell; it exists as long as you believe hard enough in it.’