When I went to meet Cody Byrne, the Vice President for Welfare and Equality in the DCU Student Union, I was excited at the chance of learning about his college experience and why he has held onto this special university for so long. Cody spent the first eleven years of his life in New Jersey in the United States, he moved with his family to Cavan which he mentioned was a huge culture shock. And at age eighteen Cody set off for the big smoke and settled in Dublin city.
When I asked Cody, what drew him to DCU, initially he said he wasnāt sold, all his friends were headed to DCU and he wanted to do something different. However, within two weeks he fell in love with the place. Having transferred from Journalism to Health and Society and eventually a year later settling on Psychology, Cody had a good sense of all aspects of DCU. āI didnāt want to leave DCU at that stage I loved itā
The SU Officer recalls singular events that made his college experience so amazing, being a part of Global Brigades, volunteering abroad and even the ski trip he took with the Snow Sports Society. His favourite part of college however was watching himself become a person he was confident to be āsimple things like seeing myself get more confident in things, itās nice to reflect back and think oh I remember in first year I had difficulty making conversation and now five years later Iām in front of 300 people making speechesā
When asked about why he ran for the Student Union he reveals it was nothing spectacular that made him want to take the plunge and apply for the role, but merely a passing comment on a night out āLorna Finnagan told me Iād be good at it in a bar and that comment just stuck with meā. I think itās clear to say that Lorna was right as Cody has blossomed into the role. This is clear from the get go when he spoke at the Orientation talk at the beginning of the year. Speaking in front of students and faculty Cody proudly acknowledged that he was gay, and what an impact he made āThree people messaged me on Facebook a week after saying that after I said I was gay in front of all the students they went back and told their parents they were gay, that was niceā
Cody says that the best part of the job is the interactions he gets to make with people. And the interactions they make with him. He notes that on really hard days he tries to stay as positive as possible āI actually have a folder in my computer and itās all positive messages so if I ever feel tired I just read themā
The Welfare Officer had a lot to about mental health in DCU, noting that we have yet to really develop coping mechanisms āWe are a generation without resilienceā. Cody notes that the things we see on social media can distort how we see ourselves and that the media can really aid in the misconstruction of our self-identities. His main mission as of now is to get people talking openly about not just their mental health but also their sexual health. āWhen I walked into this job I thought it would be mental health, mental health ,mental health, now Iām realising its all sexual health thatās what I dealt with. There is a sexual health stigma more than anything elseā
On a final note, Cody has a poignant message for HerCampus readers, and itās not what you would think. āYou should be tired in college, if youāre not tired in college youāre not doing it right. College is the perfect time to develop your mind set. Donāt be complacent. Thereās a session on today about volunteering abroad? **ck it Iāll go and see what happens.9 times out of 10 itās going to pay off. Donāt read this article at home and think oh yeah thatās good advice and go back to scrolling through Facebookā.
As Cody, will not be running for Welfare and Equality Officer again I asked, whatās next? āI would love to continue what Iām doing now but on a bigger scaleā in human rights or activismā. I think itās clear that no matter where he is headed next his impact on DCU has been a big one. From speaking with him I can tell how empathetic and genuinely concerned he is for students. Even towards the end of the interview he asked me āso all good with you?ā and not because he feels like he must but simply because he wants to know how youāre doing and thatās a lovely thing to be aware of. To know a member of your Student Union has the best interest of the students at heart.Ā
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Photo and thumbnail by SĆona Cahill