More Pugwash related ramblings

One of my faithful readers posed a question to me the other day: what exactly did I do for Pugwash to earn that hypothetical money I was trying to back claim?

Well, to quote my CV: “...meeting deadlines, working within a diverse team and problem solving are all things that this volunteer position require me to do on a regular basis. It involves proofreading, content creation and editing, team management and also a high level of dedication and commitment, as well as a mastery of the English language and intimate knowledge of our Style Guide. I occasionally edit articles for Pugwash Online, and also regularly proofread and manage content for Pugwash Magazine, working closely with all three Publication Editors and our Media Officer on a regular basis.”

I think that statement sums it up, but it’s a bit like being asked to describe a typical day as a zookeeper – there is no ‘typical’, no formal job description. I liaise, I organise, I write, I extend or cut articles to fit, I research, I proofread, I double check the style and design. Every article, page and issue is unique and they all throw up their own tasks and tests. It’s stressful and challenging and as we grow and develop and improve each problem solved is replaced with a new one to be tackled. We are all learning from it all the time.

But, I also eat pizza and M&Ms, make bad ‘your mum’ jokes, yell “amphra-fucking-sand” at Pete, roll my eyes at Tom’s choice of tunes and Jacob’s singing, play about with markers and get mocked for trying to talk reason to the Macs. Like NIAD before it, when I look back at the time spent in the Pugwash office, I will think not of the stress and the annoyances (much!), but instead of the experience I gained and the people I gained it with.

One of my self-inflicted projects for the summer is to go through every issue of Pugwash we’ve ever produced, and collect all the articles I’ve written into a portfolio of sorts. I started this afternoon, and was astonished by the amount of words I have churned out on UPSU’s behalf, and the steady changes between Issue 1 and Issue 29. Keep an eye out for some of the articles appearing here in the future, but for today all I have to offer (besides the reflection above) is a collection of my editorials over the past two years. You can find them collated here: http://tinyurl.com/nog5bq

I personally find them interesting, as they trace Pugwash’s development and remind me how far we’ve come – and make me keen to spend the next year making it go even further.

Until next time guys – I promise to return to non-Pugwash thoughts soon!