Zhun Tang

3rd year Accounting and Finance Student

Volunteering for: Strathclyde Piano Society, Strathclyde Chinese Students and Scholars Association (SCSSA), Strathclyde Accounting and Finance Department, Music Broth, Glasgow Chinese School, Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS)

Hey everyone! I am Zhun, from Beijing, China. I have been actively involved in a wide range of  voluntary work since September 2017. I am always willing to do more networking with people, improve my skills and make the world a better place. I would like to share some of my voluntary experiences with you!

University Voluntary Work

Strathclyde Piano Society 

I joined the Strathclyde Piano Society at the start of my Year 1, became the Treasurer for my Year 2 and have been the President this year. I have been helping with organising the logistics behind music events (e.g. sorting out the photographers and filming arrangement, designing posters, promoting the events on social media, contacting hoodies manufacturing companies, etc.). I have also been covering administrative tasks such as email sorting and event expenses claiming.

Many people are worried that they either do not play the piano, not skilful and confident enough to perform or cannot attend meetings often, therefore they have not joined us yet. However, we welcome anyone who is interested in music i.e. you do not have to play the piano and all levels of performance are welcome! We hold our society meetings every second Wednesday evening at RC471 Assembly Hall - normally some people volunteer to play the piano at the meetings, while other people are networking and enjoying food and drinks. We also organise going to concerts in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall twice a semester, hold our own society concerts (which are filmed by Strath TV and uploaded on YouTube) every semester, organise society meals and purchase DIY hoodies for our members.

The Piano Society is my favourite society due to various reasons – e.g. Everyone gathers together because we have the same affinity for music, it is the best place for us to chill from hectic academic work, the society is literally a charity which provides a platform for people to appreciate music and make friends. After paying the membership (£3/ semester or £5/ year), you are able to go to all the enchanting concerts we organised for free, book piano rooms in the university, enjoy discount prices for society meals, hoodie purchasing, and many other opportunities waiting to be unlocked!

Strathclyde Chinese Students and Scholars Association (SCSSA)

SCSSA is such a big and active society, which is basically the base camp for Chinese students as well as any non-Chinese student who is interested in Chinese culture. The committee is always bustling and we have organised a lot of captivating events (e.g. Scotland Chinese New Year Gala, Chinese New Year Carnival, Chinese Burns Night, Food Fair, Job and University Application Experience Sharing Lecture, etc.). Being the Minister of the Social Media and Marketing Department last year and the VP this year, I have always been a keen participant in the SCSSA committee. Managing social media official accounts, coordinating the operations between various departments within the association, contacting sponsors, etc. – Hectic work as they are, all of them are rather worthwhile, and I do treasure the opportunity of promoting Chinese culture and developing my multitasking skills.

People usually assume that every member in CSSA is Chinese. However, I would like to spotlight that such assumption is not true - every nationality is welcome! We are rather pleased to have quite a lot of non-Chinese people who joined us or are willing to join us. I adore CSSA because this cultural organisation connects diverse nations together and brings warmth to every single individual.

Strathclyde Accounting and Finance Department

This year, I volunteered to become both the Class Rep and Department Rep for Strathclyde Accounting and Finance Department. Not only did I intend to assist with ensuring that student views are being represented but also I would like to become more motivated to stay on top of my studies. It is also a way to know more about my classmates, because the time we have classes together is limited. To my delight, I have tried my best to achieve a good teaching and learning balance and have done better than the past two years in study.

Community Voluntary Work

Music Broth

Since joined in March 2018, I have been both a fundraising volunteer and an on-campus contact for a Scottish charity named Music Broth. My main duties include taking in and recording relevant information of donated money, instruments and equipment, helping to contact guest performers and promote Scotland’s first musical instrument library. I chose to volunteer there because what they do is of profound meanings (i.e. advocating environmental protection & gathering music enthusiasts together). Everyone in the organisation is exceptionally friendly and helpful, and I feel that I have attained more connection to the community by volunteering there.

Glasgow Chinese School

I was volunteering as a Chinese teacher at Glasgow Chinese School (i.e. the biggest Chinese School in the UK) from September 2017 to June 2019. I was basically teaching 20-ish British born kids whose families are either Chinese, British or a combination of both. Volunteering every Saturday morning, I was dedicated to teaching Chinese culture, marking homework, communicating with the students and parents, helping students to achieve high scores in language tests, etc.

There were many equally vital causes why I volunteered there, e.g. I intended to spend time with those cuties, I would like to network with Scottish local families and I am more than blissful to promote Chinese culture to the world. Among many ecstatic rewards from this voluntary job, I consider “helped with developing my students’ interests in Chinese learning” as what I value the most. It is a shame that I had to quit the job this year, for the fact that I wanted to focus on my university work more. According to the proverb “Interests is the best teacher”, however, I believe that my students can keep being indulged in Chinese studying even though I no longer am their teacher.

Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS)

I have just started volunteering as a language partner volunteer at CISS. As a native Chinese speaker, I was paired with some Scottish students who are learning Chinese. We met up regularly and had plenty of lovely conversations in both Mandarin and English. I would say that we are actually each other’s language partner, as in our second-language abilities have all been boosted up owing to our interactions. This precious opportunity of volunteering at Scotland’s National Centre for Languages has helped me made a lot of endearing friends as well as left me many valuable impressions.

Thank you so much for making it to the very end! Here are some tips I would like to highlight:

1) Try to seize different voluntary chances around you

2) Try to keep challenging yourself and jump out of your comfort zone

3) Try to make the most of your talents

For me, volunteering is definitely rewarding - and I have no doubt that you will feel the exact same!