FEATURE Homerton is unique among the Cambridge Colleges in that its Students Union President is a sabbatical role. A graduating student is elected in their final term, and remains in College for a further year, running the HUS (Homerton Union of Students). Supporting them is another uniquely Homertonian position, the HUS Office Manager, a role held for the past four years by Emma Themba.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF… EMMA THEMBA reassure the students that what happens at Homerton stays at Homerton! Jim (the College Accountant) is very good at resetting me back to the baseline of what the job is meant to be if I get too emotionally involved.
12.30–1pm I love Homerton lunches – I’ve had to lay off them lately, I was putting on too much weight! They’re also an opportunity to get to know the staff in other departments, as I otherwise only really interact directly with students. Generally when I do work with staff I have to grovel all the time – if I’m not asking for money I’m apologising for something! So it helps to have lunchtime to build relationships with colleagues in my own right.
1–3pm
Emma with HUS President Lydia Devonport
9–10am I drop my younger daughter at school before arriving at Homerton by 9am, when I’ll have a cup of tea and check my email. I’ll then tidy up the office, making sure the merchandise shop is in order and we’re ready for the day. The students sometimes leave it in a bit of a state overnight – so like the ‘HUS Mum’ that I am, I leave little ‘clean me’ notes on their abandoned plates and mugs! Lydia, (the HUS President for 2019–20), will join me at some point between 9 and 10 to help get the office set up. I see a large part of the role as supporting her. The President ends up taking a lot of flack from other students, as they’re an obvious scapegoat for things they don’t like, and that can be really hard.
10am–12.30pm The HUS office door opens at 10, and from then on it’s a constant stream of queries. It
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might be students wanting to swap tickets to Formals, buy College merchandise, hire airbeds (if they’re having visitors), ask about the gym, wanting to book rooms or equipment, or to apply for money for a society. We also plan the Bops and themed Formals, organise the decorations and make sure we’ve bought everything in time. Officially, my role is mainly financial. The HUS has a big budget, with a turnover of about £100,000 a year, and I need to keep the students in check and make sure they don’t spend it all on pizza! It’s about making sure there’s continuity in the financial auditing, with a new team of students taking over each year. But in practice, I do end up being a shoulder to cry on. It’s not an official part of the job, it’s just a factor of building a rapport with the students, but it’s important. I also get mums at the start of term asking me to keep an eye on their children, though I
Having been in post for four years, with a new group of students each year, I do have to take a step back sometimes and remind them that it’s not my HUS, it’s theirs. It can be hard to sit back and watch something fail, and I will sometimes say “actually we tried that three years ago and it didn’t work.” But they have to make it their own, and make their own mistakes. I didn’t go to university myself, and it’s been a real eye-opener in all sorts of ways. I love the people, the buildings and the camaraderie, as well as the gallows humour when things go wrong, and the thrill when we pull something together out of nothing and it really works. I finish at 3pm to pick up my daughters from school. I work school-hours, and termtime only, which is a wonderful balance, and I’m fairly good at switching off from it all! I keep in touch with some of the HUS team though, particularly the presidents. They become like my extra kids – it’s a really close bond.
