Wicklow TY student begins second term as Regional Officer for students’ union
A transition year (TY) student from Bray has been re-elected as the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU) Regional Officer in Wicklow, and will work together with his counterpart in Kildare to tackle issues affecting students within both counties.
Jason Tamayo, a TY student from Woodbrook College, Bray, who has been involved in the Regional Officer Body (ROB) since 2023, will join Aoibhe Toft, a 5th year student from Cross and Passion College, in Kilcullen, County Kildare, after they were both elected as the ISSU Regional Officers for the Kildare-Wicklow region.
The ISSU is the national representative body for second-level students and the officers were elected to the ROB by member schools from Kildare-Wicklow last November at the Regional Councils, in Liberty Hall, Dublin. They began their term on January 1, 2024 and will work together for the year ahead, alongside the Coiste Gnó (CG), Monitoring & Advisory Committee (MAC), and Regional Officer colleagues, to attend events, consultations, lobbying governments and other events.
While this is Aoibhe’s first term as a Regional Officers, it is Jason’s second outing, and they are both eager to get started on issues affecting students within counties Kildare and Wicklow.
Commenting on what he hopes to achieve as Regional Officer, Jason expressed how important the issue of discrimination was for him.
“The reason why I ran again for a second term was because I saw the issues that are being faced by students and I wanted to make a bigger difference than last term,” Jason explained. “I only completed a small portion of my regional project, which was mental health and the stress of exam years, and I wanted to do more than that.
“As part of the Asian community, I strongly believe that racism and discrimination is a major issue not only in my community but is a national issue and I hope to work alongside the Equality Officer to ensure that the discrimination is not a thing.”
Aoibhe echoed Jason’s comments on the need for more awareness on equality.
“I ran for Regional Officer this year because
I want to ensure that students in all areas are represented. I come from a rural village where I hadn’t heard of ISSU until our school became a member, and so I want every student in Kildare and Wicklow to experience the benefits.
“Over my time in school I have realised that as young people we face a huge problem with xenophobia, racism, and homophobia. During our term I hope to work with Officers for Welfare and Equality to create healthier, safer environments for our students.”
Throughout their tenure, the Regional Officers seek to work with local politicians, organisations, and councillors, as well as represent the over 10,000 second-level students in Kildare and Wicklow on a regional and national level.
Jason and Aoibhe said they plan to make sure student voices are heard at the local level this year, to address subjects such as anti-bullying campaigns, discrimination within our local areas, free period products for all students and other issues that affect students at secondary level.
They can be contacted at kildarewicklow@ issu.ie