Looking back now, it’s been a year now that I’ve been with Cosdu. I remember so clearly when I joined last year, the previous committee members were asking me if I had ever thought about running for a position. I never thought that I would actually be able to fully commit to weekly responsibilities outside of my own busy schedule. My biggest worry was that I would not be good enough to live up to the expectations of the rest of the committee if I do get elected. I was never really a person with a strong faith in my religion, but knowing that I had the kind of support and friendship that was shown to me during last year’s AGM, I was confident that I would be able to perform my tasks. I guess in a way it was God’s will that I’ve involved myself with a commitment to this catholic society and I am so very thankful for that.
Now, here I am instead, standing on the opposite end asking around if anyone would be interested in taking over my position when I hand over all of my responsibilities. Being a publicity coordinator of Cosdu was definitely an experience that I would always treasure with me. Among the responsibilities of my role which is the most familiar to you, would be to handle the cosdu email account and to send out weekly emails with information regarding the weekly sessions, mass times, other events and music practice. This has definitely always been a challenge for me, especially while balancing work, study and cosdu, as it is a weekly task. There must be great attention to detail as these emails sent out contain information that are relied on by all members of cosdu. I’ve also had to be very attentive in checking my emails and work closely with the rest of the committee in case of any urgent emails that I had to forward to everyone else. Despite all of that, I think sending emails is FUN, because I get access to information first =D
What I also do is to constantly update the blog with the semester line-ups of sessions, summaries of past sessions, pictures of events and anything related to cosdu. The main blog readers could be members who are not included in the mailing lists, members who have their emails lost in their inbox, or maybe just some who prefer to read a blog than an email. Hence, the blog has to be well maintained and very informative.
Aside from these weekly tasks, the most important responsibility and major event that I’ve had the joy of organising would be the Orientation Weeks in semester 1 and 2. There were ups and downs and lots of preparations leading up to the event itself, but all in all, everything was a success as I knew I could always turn to any of the rest of the committee members for help. Basically, all you have to do is to publicise cosdu as much as you can through flyers or chalk writings (I call it legal vandalism) and obtain as many members as possible to expand our family in faith. It’s exciting meeting people at the booth and actually wondering if they’d come back.
When the exam periods are looming around the corner, grab a pen and a notepad and start approaching everyone, asking for their exam dates. This goes into the exam prayer calendar on the blog, where we can all pray for each other.
Being where I am right now, I’ve realised that I’ve grown a lot by being in this position. I used to be so afraid of sending out emails to a list of people that it’d take me forever double-checking and triple-checking each and every word typed. I do it faster now :) I’ve also managed my fear of expressing my thoughts and writing out loud on the blog. I used to be someone who just went for sessions, stayed at the back and kept quiet. It wasn’t till I took over as publicity coordinator that I began speaking up and putting myself out there, being the one who speaks to people first. It’s always a daunting task, but of course, what I always aim to do is to remember each and every member’s name when I first meet them for the first welcome session. A smile and a friendly chat can really make them feel less awkward and adjust more easily to their new group of friends. As for me, I’ve found friendships within cosdu that I would treasure for a lifetime :) And as for the times that I have failed as a good publicity coordinator, I apologise to my fellow committee members.
So, if you are interested in running for this position, trust in yourself that you are capable of doing what you put you heart and mind into and leave the rest to God. I assure you that it will be a rewarding experience, socially and spiritually. I wish you all the best!
Audrey Adrianna Teh
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