Your year to lead: How volunteering shapes the UTS experience

“I had experiences that were completely random and were things I would never usually do. I found those to be the most insightful ,”she says. “My tip is to figure out what opportunities are available and try them.”

One of her standout moments came recently, teaching a cohort of about 40 students in civics education. One student, who outwardly seemed disengaged, approached her afterwards and told her something she hadn't expected – that politics and voting had never been taken seriously in their family, but that this session had helped them recognise just how powerful their vote really was.

“The fact that I could influence one person to recognise how much power and agency they hold in decision-making, that can be as small as one person or as big as affecting Australian society as a whole, that has stayed with me,” she says. 

As a law student, Kaitlyn found the crossover with her degree went both ways. She'd already worked through hundreds of contracts and constitutions through her volunteering before her contracts unit even began. Beyond the technical overlap, she's built soft skills in marketing, social media, lobbying, organising and advocating for groups of people. 

“If you are asking me how valuable volunteering is, I think that it is important to do at least one or two ventures in your time at university,” she says.

Volunteering as a launchpad to a career

Where Kaitlyn's volunteering has been about connection, Uttam has always been driven by using volunteering as a genuine pathway to professional experience and career readiness. It's an approach that's paid off – Uttam now works at UTS Careers.

In 2025 alone, Uttam's volunteering spanned student transition, peer support, wellbeing, language development, inclusion and environmental action, adding up to more than 125 hours of service across multiple programs.

As part of the UTS Orientation and Transition Team, Uttam volunteered 40 hours with the UTS Peer Network and Peer Network Cafe during Spring 2025 Orientation and the five weeks that followed.  He completed training in communication, leadership, teamwork, event facilitation and cross-cultural awareness, skills that have strengthened his ability to support students from diverse backgrounds.

Through UTS HELPS Talkfest and the Buddy Program, Uttam contributed 30 hours and a further 6 hours through Dive Against Debris with Dive Centre Manly.  

He also contributed 50 hours as a Wellbeing Representative with ActivateUTS, facilitating activities using food, crafts, painting and drawing, origami, letter writing and board games to promote mindfulness. 

A defining moment has stuck with him whilst in this role. Mid-semester, with deadlines looming, one student at a painting activity was visibly distressed. They opened up to Uttam, and he connected them with the right support on campus, including a counsellor. “A couple of weeks later, they eventually got back to me and thanked me,” he says. “That was an experience that stayed with me.” 

For Uttam, an international student, this breadth of experience solved a very real problem: landing that first local job. “The biggest issue I had in landing my first job in Australia was the fact that I had only overseas experiences,” he says. “Not having any local experience made me ‘less desirable’.”  

Volunteering gave him a way to build teamwork, communication and leadership, the soft skills expected in any role, which ultimately helped him land his first job and go on to work at UTS Careers. 

Why volunteer? 

Kaitlyn and Uttam's stories show what volunteering through UTS's SOUL Award program can offer: new skills, unexpected friendships, moments of real impact, and a clearer sense of your own agency, both on campus and beyond it. 

It's the random opportunities, the unplanned conversations and the small moments of connection that tend to leave the biggest mark and often, that's where leadership quietly begins. 

This is ‘Your year to lead’ So, if you're a UTS student wondering whether to get involved – why not start now?