Meet Your 2026 Guild President: An Interview with Ollie Barrett

Ellie Fisher: This isn’t the first time you’ve held a position in the UWA Guild—last year you served as Vice President, under the leadership of your predecessor, Nikhita Talluri—but for students who haven’t had the chance to encounter their 113th President yet: who is Ollie Barrett?

Ollie Barrett: I’m a local Perth boy, born at Subiaco St John of God, very close by! I’ve lived in America (Wyoming and Colorado) from when I was six months to eleven years old, where I learnt to ski and had a pretty odd accent which I thankfully lost when I came back to Perth in 2015. I went through high school in Perth where I played water polo (not very well at all) and rugby, as well as captaining the school Chess team in interschool tournaments. I’m now in my fifth year at UWA, studying medicine after my undergraduate degree—a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Synthetic Chemistry and Anatomy & Human Biology, but that’s wayyy too much of a mouthful! I’m a St Catherine’s college alumni, having lived there for three years and ending up as president of the college in 2024. I play social touch rugby with our team ‘The Touchers’ and love my proper club rugby, playing at Associates Rugby Union Football Club, or Soaks for short. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to play last year and this year due to time constraints, but I’ll be back there eventually! Overall, I’m really just a guy. I’m very easy to get talking, and sometimes hard to stop talking, so feel free to say hi if you see me around campus!

EF: What made you want to contribute to campus culture alongside the demands of your already-demanding degree?

OB: Honestly, my decision to apply was inspired by the great people I’ve seen do some amazing work with the Guild. I’ve been at university since 2022 and initially, had a very limited understanding of ‘the Guild’ and what it does, which was my own fault for not engaging at the time. My appreciation of the Guild began when another St Cat’s resident at the time, Geemal Jayawickrama, was the Guild President in 2023. He was one of the most caring people I’ve met, and I’m proud to have followed in his footsteps! It would be remiss to not also mention the amazing work done by Amitabh Jeganathan in 2022, Indi Creed in 2024, Nikhi Talluri in 2025, and all of the Guild Presidents before me.

I can attribute a lot of my passion for what I do to the time I spent as a Residential Advisor at—and subsequently President of—St Catherine’s College, where I helped to manage the wellbeing of other students, amongst other things. The most valuable interactions were with students who were struggling. Being able to walk away from a conversation knowing that that person is smiling, or even just frowning less than before, is something that is completely missed by metrics and quantitative data. But to that student, the feeling of compassion will never be missed.

It’s been in my role as Vice-President of the Guild in 2025 where I’ve more fully understood the special role that the Guild plays to support students, both on the scale of individuals and of tens of thousands of students. There is an enormous amount of organisation, advocacy, and work that goes into the UWA student experience, so it’s humbling to be trusted to lead that over the next year. It’s also great to know that even if UWA students are like me back in my first year—completely ignorant of the Guild—we can, and most certainly will, still advocate for them! That’s the strength of the Guild: we have an incredible team of reps that want the best for every student on campus, volunteering their time and energy to make some fantastic things happen.

EF: How accessible do you want the Guild to feel to students who aren’t already engaged in student politics? If a first-year student asked you whether student politics is worth caring about, what would you say to them?

OB: I would tell them to ignore the word politics and focus on the word STUDENT. UWA is blessed to not have strictly partisan elections, as is commonplace at most universities across Australia with factions running along lines which reflect Federal politics. This means we end up with representatives who are here because they care about how they can help the student experience, not for a resumé builder or to begin a career in politics. And realistically, there is only ‘politics’ for two weeks out of fifty-two, when campaigning is open. Every other week and still during those weeks, the focus is on how the Guild can help students and improve the university.

For any student who, much like myself years ago, knows nothing about the Guild, I would encourage you to actually engage during election season. It’s easy to not care about what we do until you actually hear what we do! From changing academic policy to introduce 11:59pm universal submission times and the two-day simple extension (EVA), to managing budgets to provide student events and initiatives, to advocating with the State and Federal Governments for better student outcomes, the Guild does it all. Whether a first-year student cares or not, we’ll be doing these things, but if they do care, they can provide feedback and help to democratically inform the Guild’s priorities!

EF: When you’re not being ‘Guild President,’ what do you do to switch your brain off?

OB: I love playing social touch rugby through UWA Sport, and I do want to get back into playing proper rugby, but maybe when I have a bit more time. I love a game of pool, and I play a bit of Clash Royale and Clash of Clans too. Mostly, I try and find a bit of time to myself to breathe and relax! I’ve also found that mindfulness activities, when engaged with well, are a great strategy to proactively work towards having a healthy, well-regulated brain. I’ve recently started therapy through UWA’s mental health service, which I would encourage anyone struggling to switch their brains off to try. It’s important to acknowledge when you need help and to go out and seek that help. Our brains are like our muscles, needing exercise and stimulation to stay healthy, so looking after your mental health is just as important as your physical health.

EF: What are three main issues for students you hope to tackle this year during your presidency?

OB: Cost of living is a huge issue for students currently, and certainly one of my main focuses this year. Unfortunately, there’s no immediate fix; government policy is ultimately the lever by which a situation like this is improved. However, I’ll be working closely with UWA’s Student Life department to provide support to our students as best we can. Some key points include the introduction of a financial counsellor, bursaries for students experiencing financial hardship from unpaid placements, and continuing work on Phase Two of the Guild masterplan to provide a Wellbeing Hub for students. Another key focus is supporting students academically. There’s an overwhelming amount of feedback from students that mandatory practice papers for units with an exam would help here, so that is another of my main goals this year. Other focuses here include fixing the issues with CAS and timetabling, working on the University’s AI policy, and increasing hours for students at our libraries. In addition to these two areas, I will also be spending a great deal of time this year focusing on the transformative changes ongoing at UWA and in the wider community of WA; with two UWA campuses opening in India this year and the discussions of ‘mergers’ of Western Australian universities ongoing, there won’t be a dull moment for me!