Lauryn Mwale, November 2020

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This year is different in many unexpected ways. I keep contrasting my day-to-day life now and the one I had this time last year. Obviously, that is a bit simplistic. I have progressed by an entire year academically (I will be graduating next July) so it was always going to be different. But there are certain constants that I took for granted, and one of them is my job as a student caller. It was the best way to end a draining day at university. The vibe in the calling room is friendly and the sounds of each independent conversation come together in a really uplifting way. We love speaking to our alumni and everyone is really excited when they get to have a conversation and write up a postcard afterwards. I started my calling journey early in 2019. It seemed like an enjoyable way to make some extra money. After hours of training, I finally had my first night at the desk and no one picked up the phone. I have no idea how many numbers I dialled throughout the various campaigns but that first day felt endless. I was incredibly nervous to randomly call people up, but also really excited because of all the good stories I had heard about peoples’ calls.  However, that first night, I did not get that worthy chat. Luckily, I was sitting next to a friendly colleague, so we had chats as I called phones that rang endlessly.

I came back the next day for my second shift literally praying for someone to pick up. Someone did and they were not happy to receive my call. That cut me down a bit and I began to hope that people would not pick up. I continued to burn through my call list and lost much hope that I would get any responses and then I heard a “click”. Someone had picked up and for a second I forgot the appropriate reply to “hello.” I am smiling broadly thinking back to that first conversation. I stumbled through my greetings, mentioned who I was and where I was calling from and he asked after my boss. Apparently, he was once a student caller as well. He was very kind to me and guided the conversation in a way. It is fun to have chats but that only works when you have something to chat about. We talked about all our experiences in student societies. I had just been elected President of AIESEC Edinburgh and was very eager to get started. I gave him a little run through of what we did, and he humoured me and asked plenty of questions about it.

He really eased me into the chat. He told me about his time founding, leading and supporting the Children’s Holiday Venture, a society which runs activities for disadvantaged children in Edinburgh. It was obvious how passionate he was about the cause and how proud he was to have created something that still functions today. He told me funny stories about trips he had taken the kids on and how much he loved and respected his teammates. Now, he is a teacher up in Dundee. Working with those kids and understanding how much impact he could have inspired him to pivot, enrol at the Moray House School of Education and pursue a teaching qualification. I told him about my favourite teachers and why I loved them, and he spoke about his favourite students.

I glanced at my computer screen and realised that we had been talking for nearly an hour. I mentioned it to him as I did not want to take up too much of his evening and he brought up the donation aspect of the call. As a previous caller, he understood the value in supporting the university. He had benefitted from funding as he grew his society and had fond memories of his experience studying. He became my first donation and I was, and am still, incredibly grateful. He is also one of my all-time favourite calls. Our conversation gave me the confidence boost I needed to get through the days when no one picks up or wants to talk because I knew that eventually someone kind and interesting might have time. And, on dark Edinburgh days, we all need a nice chat to boost our mood and he was the best part of my day.

Lauryn

November 2020