Jon - President

President of the society. It is a burden to carry, a heavy but not necessarily tough one, one that carries certain connotations and responsibilities – and it was one that I never thought I would run for, but the Lord had other plans and somehow it got to this. I’m actually sitting here, writing down my experiences as COSDU president.

So what do you do as president? In a nutshell, you get elected, you have to be a University of Melbourne student, and you hold the post for 2 semesters. The president’s responsibilities, as stated in COSDU’s constitution, are as follows:

• Take care of each ministry in COSDU
• Oversee and ensure the overall smooth running of COSDU
• Keep the Spiritual Directors informed of COSDU’s wellbeing
• Supervise and delegate tasks to committee members
• Chair and prepare AGM
• Call and chair committee meetings
• Liaise with The Archdiocese
• Attend AGM and other necessary training conducted by UMSU

If you just gave it a glance over, it looks like there’s nothing in there but paperwork, meetings and liaison, but the responsibilities of the president extend way beyond paperwork. One of the most important roles of a president is to determine the direction COSDU will take in the coming year. Without direction, COSDU’s activities will be disjointed and scattered, and the members will sense the discrepancy in the flow. Another important role you play, together with your vice-president, is being the glue that holds the various ministries together – you watch out for them, make sure they’re not overworking, and be there for them should crises arise. And you will represent the face of COSDU to the university and church, administration and students alike, in various functions and activities.

It has been an amazing run, being president of COSDU. Besides being able to write home and tell your mother that you’re president of the society, you do get to meet many, many interesting people. As president, I had the opportunity to meet up with members of various Catholic societies across Victoria, and even Australia; and in doing so, get to understand how the Catholic Youth Ministries in Australia operate. Also, to be able to lead and grow with a team of people so dedicated, so vibrant and so passionate in the ministry truly is an unforgettable memory; and a humbling one as well. I could write about all the activities and experiences we’ve gone through as a team in the past year, but that would fill up another blog post.

I’ve had my share of downs, and as president, you are not exempted from error - you do pay for your mistakes. I learnt you have to be meticulous and punctual - fail to set a date for monthly meetings at the start of the semester, and you’ll never manage to get everyone together at the same time. Also, you won’t always have all the cards in your hand when you make decisions. Sometimes, the decisions you make will have to be made on the fly, and you can’t always please everyone with your results. And I have had to make sacrifices – some from my personal life and some from my university life, but looking back, I have no regrets.

I have three things to say, should you be discerning for the role. Firstly, should the role of president seem too overwhelming, never underestimate the strength of your committee. There’s this really cliché line that goes ‘united we stand, divided we fall’ – but it holds true for many groups, and COSDU is no exception. Time and again, the COSDU committee has stuck together and pulled through dozens of events, obstacles and opportunities. Also, as COSDU president, you will have to watch yourself, and stand tall in university, for everything you do will be judged against you simply because you are the leader of a group promoting Catholicism. Finally, when I said that being president is a humbling experience, I do not say this lightly. If you are reading this and you are discerning as to whether you should run for president or not, remember that God is the real leader, and you are simply His servant. Everything you do is because He permits it, and entrusts it to you.

“What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”

1 Corinthians 3:5-7

In the end, I’m not perfect. I know it, despite my various jokes about being how awesome I am. But the reason I chose to run for president, nearly a year ago, was because I knew that God chooses the weak to shame the strong. So should you have the heart for God, and be willing to put in a little time, effort and kindness, I say go for it. Take the leap and God will make you a leader as only He knows how.

God bless.

Jon

AGM is happening on 13 May 2011