I JOINED the SNP in 2018, becoming a member of Stirling University’s Scottish National Society (SUSNA) during the second year of my four-year politics degree.

My initial engagement stemmed from learning experiences, such as attending an event hosted by Jamie Hepburn MSP and SUSNA in 2018, where we discussed the arguments and facts for independence.

Becoming a SUSNA member provided me with the opportunity to meet like-minded people who cared about Scotland and sharing my beliefs.

Soon, I started my campaigning journey.

My time being active with SUSNA and my studies has helped me learn of the positive impact the SNP has achieved for Scotland - an understanding embedded in me today.

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Moving forward, I am excited to take on my new role as vice-convener of the Young Scots for Independence (YSI) and I am grateful to have this opportunity to be working with our membership, our new experienced convener and our talented national executive committee (NEC).

My next steps are to elevate our youth members' engagement and enhance their experience in our movement by fostering a thriving community across the YSI.

We all want Scotland to gain her independence, and we appreciate the dedication of our YSI membership's activism.

The YSI’s recent conference passed some excellent resolutions, about which more can be learned through our social media channels. One of these resolutions includes the recommendations from our National Secretary's internal review, marking the most significant transfer of powers to our YSI members ever to happen.

We will work to open NEC working groups to all members, empower the regions through them gaining full autonomy over their own working structures and improve the YSI by supporting our members more. 

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We will carry on our work from last year by continuing to write a column for the SNP’s Independence Magazine and open this opportunity to our membership.

I want our women members and members across all of our equality groups to know that the YSI is a safe place for them to develop their activism and for their voices to be heard.

Furthermore, my focus is on advancing the success of the YSI. I will do this by collaborating with fellow members and our affiliations such as BAME to develop strategies for outreach support, and by advocating for education opportunities.

Working with BAME is something we have started, thanks to our talented National Equalities Officer, Temisan Atssegoh.

By fostering a thriving community and strengthening the YSI's impact, we can ensure that the voices of young people are not only heard but also play a significant role in sharing the positive message for Scotland and shaping the party's direction toward achieving independence.