Waseda WeeklyWaseda Weekly

WAVOC Student Staff Leader
Yukina Matsuda, 4th year student, School of Education​

In front of the WAVOC office in Building 99 on Waseda Campus

While studying on campus, students participate in activities and do work that contributes to improving the value of the university. What kind of students are involved in "student participation/student jobs," which play such an important role at universities, and how? This time, we will introduce the daily life of Yukina Matsuda, a fourth-year student in the School of Education who works as a student staff leader at The Hirayama Ikuo Volunteer Center (WAVOC) (WAVOC).

Q. How did you get started?

It all started when a teacher from WAVOC approached me after I enrolled, through a connection with a teacher who had been looking after me in my hometown. I was born and raised in Tohoku, and I had always wanted to be involved in volunteer work after being looked after by volunteers during the Great East Japan Earthquake. I also had a strong desire to try something new at university, so I applied to be a WAVOC student staff leader.

Q. What kind of activities do you do?

I work to provide volunteer opportunities for Waseda students. I plan volunteer activities from a student perspective and am responsible for a wide range of tasks related to planning and implementing them, from communicating with the organizations where the activities will take place to recruiting participating students through websites and social media. I work about twice a week, and one of the things I enjoy is volunteering with the participating students on the day of the event! I also provide advice on volunteering for students who come to the WAVOC office.

During  "Movie Viewing at Universal Theater," an event that she organized herself (June 2023). She is seen talking with the person in charge after the event.

Q. Please share your thoughts on the experience.

Naturally, I have become very knowledgeable about volunteering at Waseda! In the process of planning volunteer activities and implementing events, I am able to interact with teachers and members of various student clubs belonging to WAVOC and learn about the types of activities and their thoughts behind them. When I first started working as a staff member, I didn't know what to do and I was busy just doing my daily tasks, but now I am more aware of working in a way that brings me closer to student clubs and participating students.

Clean-up activities carried out in collaboration with the Rotary Club (official student club)

Q. How do you balance multiple commitments, such as your studies and a student job?

Although the shifts are arranged so that I don't neglect my studies, I also try to be creative by reducing my shifts when I'm busy with other activities and increasing my shifts when the volunteer project I'm in charge of approaches! I'm currently working on my research in the sociology seminar in preparation for writing my bachelor's thesis.

I also participate in the Waseda Volunteer Project "Rikuzentakata Project", and during long holidays I organize events, volunteer, and interact with local people in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture. When I have local activities like this, I adjust my shifts to work.

Q. Please tell us about your future aspirations and the challenges you plan to take on.

We plan to conduct surveys and analyze what interested students who participated in past volunteer projects and where students who volunteer repeatedly gather information from. WAVOC has been announcing and advertising its activities on social media for several years, but our future goal is to provide information that is easier to understand and catches the attention of Waseda students so that they can easily start volunteering.

How he spends his week when classes are in session