“I’m a Secretary.”
Generally, that’s how you would introduce yourself, if you are the Parliamentary Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, Secretary-General for a non-profit organisation, or the secretary of your neighbourhood knitting club. So what makes being the secretary of COSDU unique?
Frankly, the position of Secretary was one that I never imagined running for. After all, past secretaries were known to be ruthlessly efficient and these were pretty big shoes to fill. At that time, I had only been in Melbourne for less than 3 months and was still preoccupied with memorising road names, understanding my lecturer’s Irish accent and remembering new names and faces. Thankfully, God had other plans, and here I am. Yes, there have been stressful and frustrating times, but these are amply balanced by some of the most valuable experiences I could ever hope to get. At the end of the day, it’s really all worth it.
If I summarise from the Constitution, the main responsibilities of the COSDU Secretary are to:
- Oversee all administrative responsibilities
Basically, paperwork stuff. You take meeting minutes, maintain the Membership List and Constitution, make announcements at the end of each session.
- Send out Christmas cards at the end of each year
(This might sound strange, but it is seriously one of the best ways you can learn about the hierarchical system of our Catholic faith, especially if you haven’t been paying much attention to such details in past Catechism classes.)
- Liaise with UMSU and MUOSS to ensure affiliation
Includes filling up the relevant forms, attending training sessions conducted by UMSU and working with the President and Treasurer to obtain grants for COSDU.
- Ensure that COSDU adheres with the Clubs and Societies rules and regulations
Even though the above tasks might sound overbearing and intimidating, it all boils down to a matter of practice. Ideally, the secretary is someone who is meticulous and organised, to keep track of the membership matters and dates of events. It also helps if you are a great networker and multi-tasker. (Of course, it helps if Excel and Google Calendar become your best friends.) But I don’t have the above qualities, and I’m still learning as I go along. So don’t worry too much about being perfect – sometimes, God calls upon the weak for a reason, all you need to do is listen and follow Him.
That said, I believe integrity and trustworthiness are of the upmost importance if you are thinking of applying for this role. As Secretary, you would have almost unlimited access to a lot of personal details, but this does not mean you can use them to further your stalking abilities or sell them to telemarketing companies for extra petty cash. I cannot stress this enough – please do not misplace the trust members have in you.
An old school motto of mine: Via, Veritas, Vita – the Way, the Truth and the Life. Throughout this journey, I have learnt to deepen my faith in Christ and hopefully, become more Catholic in virtue and a better person overall. In response to my previous question, what makes the COSDU Secretary unique is the knowledge that you can always depend on God’s guidance and providence. He will always extend His gentle hand, often through prayer or the assistance of those around you.
Lastly, as all past secretaries were wont to do, I am obliged to share this little piece of well-known secret: Secretaries secretly rule the world!
God Bless and have a fulfilling discernment.
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