In October 2015 the CSC was delighted to welcome past CSC executive member, ex-chair of the Young Fine Gael Society, the then Minister for Health, and current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to launch the Society Alumni Testimonial Journal. He was joined by several other Trinity alumni who had been involved in societies in Trinity College.
The publication is a compilation of reflections by Trinity Alumni including David O’Doherty, Senator Averil Power, Paddy Cosgrave, Senator David Norris, Dylan Haskins, Senator Ivana Bacik, and many more. They each reflect on their time here and the invaluable and incomparable experiences they had while serving as society officers.
The Taoiseach noted the number of his political contemporaries who also came up through TCD Societies. He commended on the breadth and scope of societies present on campus today and spoke of the invaluable skills he developed while on a society committee that he utilises to this day.
This journal was compiled by the CSC as part of the Fourth Week initiative, which aims to highlight to College the value of student-led activities. The impetus that students get from having the opportunity to run a society, the feeling of achievement when a long-planned event runs well, and the knowledge gained about how to bear responsibilities have all been fundamental experiences which have led to the successes that these alumni have achieved later in their lives. These things all arise from the fact that students run societies by and for themselves, and we hope that continued facilitation of societies and support for the CSC by College will mean that future students will have the same opportunities for entrepreneurship.