PinC’s Current Committee

: Aimée Elkington, Luke Stamper, Deacan Robinson, Seline Uran, Ned Wall, Juliet Cookson and Connie Protts

PinC’s committee includes both those who occupy committee positions and those who are links. Links are the volunteers in charge of PinC’s individual projects and therefore manage the volunteers working on their project and liaise with our contact within the institution.

If you would like to occupy a committee position or become a link then please contact us.

President: Deacan Robinson

I got involved with PinC in my first semester at the University of Sheffield. I started out as a volunteer at Roundabout Homeless Charity and found it very rewarding. I then became the link for that project in my second year, and in my third year, I became the Recruitment and Outreach Secretary.

Throughout my time as a volunteer, I have worked with people of all ages and abilities, from primary and secondary school children, to college students, elderly people and homeless people. PinC has always been a very special part of my university experience and I feel that it has helped me in numerous ways, from increasing my confidence in public speaking to improving the clarity in which I present philosophical problems.

As President, my role is to oversee all of the projects that we have and ensure that they are running as effectively as possible. I run weekly committee meetings, give talks to potential volunteers, provide support to project links and to other committee members, liaise with the department etc.

I am the link for Think & Drink, a weekly public philosophy project. We usually run on Thursday evenings in the Hallamshire House pub. The sessions usually centre around one or two interesting philosophical questions, but we encourage participants to come up with their own ideas and questions to propose to the group as well. PinC volunteers facilitate these discussions and help to give a platform for participants to engage in a fruitful philosophical enquiry. This project is a really fun way to engage the public with philosophy and is really quite different from our other projects.

Vice President and Outreach: Ned Wall

Link for the Roundabout project

“I assist the President in overseeing the coordination of all PinC’s projects. This involves ensuring that there is good communication between each of the projects and their link, as well as establishing links with new projects.

I worked on the Archers Project last year as a volunteer. This year I am the link for the Roundabout project, where we go and run philosophy sessions at the brilliant charity Roundabout which provides shelter for homeless young people.”

Volunteer Secretary: Luke Stamper

Link for Silverdale School

“I’m the volunteers secretary for PinC in the 2018/19 academic year. Essentially, I’m responsible for all general volunteers related stuff. At the start of each semester that means ensuring a smooth sign-up process by helping spread the word about what PinC is and what we do, keeping track of the number of volunteers involved with and needed for each project, and organising the safeguarding sessions and DBS checks. Throughout the rest of the year it means being there to support volunteers by answering any questions and organising regular sessions for planning and discussing ideas or issues.

I’m also PinC’s link for the Silverdale project which runs two hour long sessions a week working with the 6th form philosophy classes at Silverdale School during normal school hours. With usually 2-4 volunteers we run discussions either in small groups or with the whole class. This provides a valuable experience for the students and gives them a space to develop their philosophical understanding and ideas. It’s quite different to other projects since the topics are determined by the syllabus and the kids are already interested in philosophy. Whilst this means less freedom in directing the sessions it also enables a deeper exploration of the topics that both students and volunteers get a lot out of. I got involved with PinC because having taught English and tennis before as a summer job I knew helping further the understanding and ability of others could be a very satisfying process. Since philosophy is an often overlooked area with fascinating and wide reaching applications this makes teaching it all the more
rewarding.

Publicity and Social Secretary: Aimée Elkington

Link for Oasis Don Valley School

“I make sure that the Facebook and Twitter accounts are up to date and efficient in relaying information about upcoming PinC events. I also take care of PinC’s website where students, volunteers and members of the public can look for information about who we are, what we do and how to be part of it. Throughout the year I intend to run a few socials to give all our volunteers a chance to interact and have a bit of fun.

I have been a volunteer for PinC since I was in first year, and has given some incredible experience in teaching as well as a different perspective on philosophy as a whole.

I am the link for Oasis Don Valley school, which is a brand new project. We hope to start this up after Christmas!”

Secretary: Juliet Cookson

Link for Thomas Rotherham College

“My role as secretary requires me to arrange regular committee meetings, take minutes, book rooms and keep on top of the email account. It’s important for us to have these regular meetings and for the minutes to be circulated in order for PinC to continue to run smoothly.

I got involved with PinC because I thought it sounded like a great opportunity for both myself and for the local students involved. It is exactly the sort of thing that I would have enjoyed if given the opportunity when I was at school so I was excited to be able to take part.

As the project link for Thomas Rotherham College I organise our visits to the college. This project involves us going into the college once every week for an hour to work with the A Level students there. We run after school mentoring sessions for the students, working in small groups, typically a couple of AS groups and a couple of A2 groups, dependent on student numbers. It is important that the students find the work we do interesting and useful to their studies, so we ask them what they will find the most helpful to work on week to week and this forms the basis of our sessions. This usually involves going over content from their course and developing their understanding of specific aspects; critiquing arguments; answering essay questions and practicing essay writing techniques.”

Treasurer and Transport: Seline Uran

Co-Link for Westbourne Primary School

“As Treasurer and Transport for PinC it is my responsibility to oversee the booking system used for taxis as well as ensuring that we stay within our allocated budget for current and new projects.

I first became involved with PinC last year when volunteering to assist in Think and Drink at Hallamshire House. The project was intriguing to me and seemed a brilliant way to engage the general public with philosophy. I then went onto volunteer at the Westbourne project allowing me to see engagement with a different demographic altogether!

As a psychology student, I feel this provides me with the benefit of being able to reflect the viewpoints of PinC’s audience, of which the majority will not already be admitted with philosophy in an academic context. It has allowed me to see that whilst Philosophy can be interdisciplinary it is accessible for individuals of any age or background.”

Co-Link for Westbourne: Rory Wilson

“I am a masters student in Philosophy. Philosophy in the City and the Philosophy department’s general interests in spreading Philosophy past academia really drew me to Sheffield. As Co-link for Westbourne, I help design lesson plans and coordinate with volunteers for lessons with year 8 students.

In addition to working with Westbourne, I am interested in expanding PinC to working with prison populations, young offenders and at-risk youth groups.”

Link for Brantwood School: Emily Wright

“Hi I’m Emily, the PinC link for Brantwood. This means I am the point of communication with this school. As a new project, my role at this stage is to establish a PinC presence in the school and arrange sessions.”