Craig Symons

During my time as HK, I wish to build on the legacies left by the previous Pieke house committee members as well as adding new and innovative and progressive ideas to the house for the future generations of Pieke to adopt. I want to make sure Pieke is a safe space for all its members so that no one feels left out or excluded from anything. Pieke’s values are a good base for any individual, from any background to expand upon and help build the best version of themselves that they can. I want to facilitate this personal growth as best as I can and help give the new and existing members of Pieke the best chance to achieve the version of themselves that they wish to be. Given the current climate and issues faced in society, I want to focus on tackling Gender Based Violence issue and promote woman empowerment within Pieke. Cultural diversification is an area that I feel will always need improvement, and one that we are currently working on, but perhaps a new strategy can be formulated and executed to make sure that we are staying at the cutting edge of diversification strategies.

If elected for HK I’d like to be involved with the Social Impact and Leadership development portfolio as well as any committee guardian. Additionally, I have been working on making videos for Pieke as the media manager and have been really enjoying making and sharing the videos with the Pieke community. As an individual that has had his struggles with mental health, I feel that I have a good understanding of these issues. Making me able to relate with people that have faced similar issues, hence why I feel I may do well as a committee guardian. I have been fortunate to have had some fairly decent opportunities in my life to be in leadership positions, in high school, I was assigned to the grade 11s in my boarding house as their matric mentor. Whilst working, I was in charge of the conservation team, and open had to manage staff and overlook their daily activities. These experiences I believe have put me in a god position to be a strong and dependable leader in Pieke

In the past, I feel as if attendance has been poor for house events. This is an area I feel we can improve on, mostly by focusing on engaging and connecting with existing Pieke members that might be reluctant to attend events because they may feel shy or that they do not fit in, we can try eliminate these feelings by having more social activities in a relaxed setting, like braais at the Piekstaai. The first years are eager to be involved but from what I have experienced and heard from my mentees, is that the first year is a very overwhelming time and often as much as they would like to attend events, they just do not have enough time, therefore, I feel it would be wise to pay more attention to existing members of Pieke, in their second or third years and beyond. The best way to find out what the Pieke community wants and what activities would appeal to them is to engage with the community and get the general consensus. I feel that this would greatly improve the attendance and participation in House events.

One aspect I feel that the leadership in Pieke can improve on, is communication. This is a vital skill of any individual in the working environment, so it would be a good idea to practice it and work on it at this level. I have often felt as if communication is unclear and this is left me confused and unsure of what to do on more than one occasion. If elected to HK I will try my best to open the lines of communication and build on what we already have, by being responsive, clear and concise with my instructions and communication.

I am a servant leader; I do not see myself as above anyone but rather lead by example. I work with people instead of dictating the rules and regulations. I feel as if people are far more responsive to being led by individual that is will to get their hands dirty. I will set the example of the person I feel every Pieke member should be by taking on and personifying the house values, so that the new and old members can see how to act and conduct themselves at all times.