Steph Fleming is a 4th year Physiotherapy student, originally from County Cork, who says that her reasons for running for the position of Welfare Officer are simple: she’s passionate about Welfare services and thinks that she would be good at the job. “Studying physiotherapy, I’ve been in some pretty intense work environments, intensive care units, The National Rehab centre. I’ve treated patients who have gone through the toughest times of their lives. I will work hard to help people. I’m very passionate about it.”
If elected, the first thing she wants to do is to make the Welfare services “as accessible as possible”. She points out that some students have very long days in college and thinks that the Welfare office should have evening hours at least one day a week to accommodate this. Fleming wants to bring increased accessibility to off-campus sites also. “There’s hundreds of students based elsewhere. I want to make sure that Welfare services get to these sites too.”
Fleming also sees increased LGBT awareness as a priority. “I want Rainbow Week to also reach out to people who don’t necessarily see themselves as LGBT. LGBT has expanded to LGBTQ – Q being questioning, as in you’re not really sure who you are yet. You find yourself in college – it might be a cliché but it’s also true. If you’re coming out as gay, lesbian or bi, college is a place where you find the opportunity to do that.”
Fleming speaks passionately about her belief in the importance of the Welfare position. “It takes a lot of courage to seek help. I think there is a feeling in Ireland that seeking help is a sign of weakness, that people should be able to stand up for themselves. But I want to ensure that people feel secure and happy and confident – if they’re having problems, make sure they know that they’re not dealing with it on their own.”
