The first thing that RaG (raise and give) committee taught me was politics. Despite being chosen for some responsibilities at school, I had never had to campaign in an election before, so running for the Big Challenges role was the first time I had ever had to write a manifesto or give a speech about my policies. If this wasn't nerve wracking enough, this was also the year where the position was most contested as there were 6 other people who also wanted the role. 

The day to day responsibilities of being on RaG committee have helped prepare me for work life once I graduate.  As Big Challenges Officer, I have needed to work with the challenge companies, charities, and, of course, all of the students going, to ensure that everyone is safe, having fun, and achieving their fundraising target! This means that my leadership skills dramatically improved, as well as my communication and organisation. 

Part way into my second year, I realised that I had taken on an awful lot - I was on 2 committees (one within uni, the other national),  the lacrosse team, and I was the student ambassador for the EP scheme, this was all on top my degree. I struggled along with this for a while until I fell ill. It was at this point that I realised I needed someone to help me. Admitting I cannot do something is not a concept that comes easily to me, however, I knew that everything I did was suffering as I did not have the time to give each the attention it deserved.  Therefore I confessed my shortcomings to the RaG president and she insisted I took a couple of weeks off to look after myself. During these two weeks, I learnt a few techniques which have significantly improved my time management skills, and therefore my overall organisation. In turn, my ability to juggle multiple responsibilities at once has increased, to the point that I had time to relax and as a result, I became less stressed and found it easier to focus on the tasks I needed to complete. 

Other than RaG, lacrosse has been my biggest passion at uni. Not only did it keep me fit but it showed me the importance of camaraderie, teamwork, and perseverance. My first position on the twos team was as goalie - here I learnt, rather literally, how to get back up after taking a hit. After I had trained up two new goalies I decided to move to a defensive position. This is where I learnt to always make myself heard (as the ref is only human so can't see everything), and that getting feedback,  is a great way to learn from your mistakes, for example, if I was called out for a foul I would politely ask exactly what I did wrong so that I could fully understand where I went wrong and how I could then improve that. Lacrosse also showed me the necessity of motivation. As a lacrosse team, we were not particularly successful - we lost the majority of our games and we would have been worried about relegation, had we not already been in the lowest league! However, the silver lining of this is that we rejoiced whenever we could, whether this was a celebratory hug on the pitch after a particularly good play, or just cheering on encouragement from the sidelines. These motivational actions had a tangible effect on the team as it caused the whole mood to lift and this often led to more good plays and sometimes even a few goals! Whilst we have a few players that carry the team, we would never be able to have a good game if it weren't for the whole team. Nothing exposed this more than my stint as goalie. During this time I was trained separately to the rest of the team which allowed me to observe how well the members of the team could read each others' body language and react accordingly, I then had a chance to put this skill into practice when I joined the players on the pitch. 

I also learnt a lot about confidentiality through my role as a support worker. Not only did I need to be careful not to reveal anything about my young person's disability to the other young people, but there were also safeguarding issues that I had to help manage. As I have only had limited training in safeguarding issues, this was a steep learning curve for me, as I had to ask very personal questions without causing alarm. 

Having done this job in a very multicultural area it was interesting to see how the young people from different cultures and religious backgrounds interacted, whether it was the whole group going to the Gurdwara during their lunch break, or some of the young people telling the others about the rituals of the Muslim prayers. This was also very informative for me, as my religious education at school seemed to be lacking! This job, unexpectedly, gave me a lot of insight into other cultures and as a result, allowed me to bond with the young people, whether that was through Arabic quotes written in henna, visiting the Gurdwara, or simply discussing our favourite 'home' foods. 

I never expected this job to be easy, but to be quite honest, it was harder that I expected as I encountered a lot of challenges which had not been anticipated. However, there were also lots of pleasant surprises too! By the end of the three weeks I was so proud of my entire group, and I learnt a lot from the experience too and I ended up finishing the week very tired but gratified by the progress of my group, and my young person in particular. 

I first got involved with RaG when I decided that I wanted to make the most of my time at university and that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro would be the best way to do this! After attending my first RaG (raise and give society) meeting where I was enthralled by the photos and stories of previous challenge participants, I signed up to climb Kili in aid of the Meningitis Research Foundation. In order to go on this trip, I had to fundraise £3000, which initially seemed incredibly daunting. However, I have always been rather determined and this was something that I had set my heart on so I slowly chipped away at this target by doing bucket collections and hosting events, so by the end of the Easter holidays, I had reached my goal! 

Then came the hard part - the climb itself. In September 2017, 22 of us from Kent RaG flew out to Tanzania to tackle the trek. Initially, the climb didn't seem to bad, the weather was lovely, the path was smooth, and the views were stunning! However, by the time the third day came members of the group were feeling the effects of the altitude, and I was struggling with my asthma. Though, as the last couple of days had been so full of energy and cheer, I refused to let my lungs dampen my spirit! I encouraged the group to keep on going by staying at the front and helping those who were struggling by giving them sugary food, pulling them up rocks, and by remaining happy and enthusiastic, despite the fact I was struggling to breathe. With the help of the team spirit, we all managed to make it up Lava Tower (4600m) despite the altitude sickness setting in. When we met the doctor on the fourth day I was the first to be seen, given my breathing problems. It was at this point I was offered to be taken down the mountain. That would have been the easy option but I didn't raise £3000 to fall at the first hurdle, I decided to carry on. Unfortunately, it was at this point that we lost our first teammate due to altitude sickness. After tears were shed and we said goodbye, he turned back whilst the rest of continued climbing upwards.

However my asthma did not improve, and my dust-filled inhalers only made it worse, so the guide insisted on taking my day bag, which was a very kind gesture but as the temperatures rapidly decreased it meant I had no layers to put on. By the time we reached the campsite that evening I had hypothermia, and as a result I have no memories of the evening or night. I have been told that I was so paralysed by the cold that the guides had to physically put all of my clothes on me and lift me into my sleeping bag! That night our group had to get up at 10pm (after just a couple of hours' sleep) to begin the summit trek; whilst several people stayed back due to various injuries or altitude sickness, I refused (albeit rather foolishly) to let hypothermia stop me. I was still too ill to form memories but I insisted that I would at least attempt the summit trek, and attempt it I did. After nearly an hour of climbing and being pulled up rocks, I collapsed, vomited and was unable to get up. It was at this point that I was refused to be allowed to go any further, so a guide took me down whilst the rest of group continued the climb. I found out the next day that only 12 of the 22 people in my group actually made it to the top. Although I was very disappointed to not be amongst them, I was still proud of how much I had achieved despite my illnesses - though I only realised this a day later once I regained lucidity!

Climbing Kilimanjaro was an incredible experience and one that I shall never forget. It showed me that with enough determination and perseverance you can do (nearly) anything, however you must accompany this with a good deal of logic and intelligence to ensure you know when to stop!