Meet your FTO – Student President Laiba Tareen

Newly appointed Student President Laiba Tareen has now started her post as Full Time Officer, after being elected in the 2022 Student’s Association elections.

We spoke to Tareen about her plans as Student President and her excitement about starting the role – including her love of Irn Bru!

How did it feel to get elected?

I still remember, I was running late for the elections results and I opened the live streaming in the car with my sister and brother. The moment I was elected as Student President, the three of us screamed with excitement. That feeling of being overwhelmed is still very hard to explain. That moment also made me realise the responsibility of representing 18,000 students!

What aspect of the role excites you the most?

There are a lot of them. Having a friendly conversation with students and working with the university to enhance the student experience are the most exciting ones. Representing 18,000 students and speaking up for them brings a lot of responsibility and I really love this aspect of my role.

Is there anything in particular you want to achieve this year? 

One of the major aspects that I want to achieve this year is the transformation of online learning to full on-campus experience for students. The last two stressful years of the pandemic meant that students were not able to experience the campus (and Freshers’ Week, for example). I really want to see a normal campus experience for students this year.

What will you bring to the role of VP?

I have gained a lot of experience through my role as International Students’ Officer and Senate member over the last two years. This experience will definitely benefit me in this role.  

In particular, I would really like to continue speaking up for students. I previously did this for international students and now I’ll do it for 18,000 GCU students.

With the pandemic now at an end, how excited are you to see more students on campus this year?

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a lot of disruption worldwide, especially in the education sector. The last few years has been terrible, especially for students. I feel extremely happy and excited to see more students returning on campus this year and gaining a full on-campus student experience.

Getting to know you...

Place of Birth?

Pakistan, Lahore

Favourite food?

A spicy Pakistani dish called Chicken Biriyani. It’s a mixture of chicken and rice.

Favourite drink?

Irn Bru (I’m not Scottish J)

Your dream holiday?

A peaceful view of the beach at a resort in the Maldives.

If you could go to dinner with one celebrity, who would it be?

I would go for dinner with Robert Pattinson as he seems to have a very impressive personality in his promotional interviews. We would also have a lot in common to talk about, such as loving music.

Interesting fact about yourself...

I can roll my tongue.

I am extremely scared of lizards.

I know a really interesting magic trick which makes it look like your thumb has disappeared (I won’t reveal the secret for this trick!!!)

Keep up to date with Laiba on her Facebook and Twitter pages

By Rachael McAlonan      

Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media here