Wolfson Volunteer Spotlight: Tom Williamson

If all that didn’t keep him busy enough, Tom also is an active volunteer, giving his time to different initiatives around the College. He spoke with Simona Obeng, the Community & Leadership Impact Coordinator, about why and how he has chosen to volunteer his time.  

What motivated you to volunteer?

I’ve always balanced music alongside my studies. Before arriving at Wolfson in 2023, I reached out to Lyn Alcántara, our Director of Music, to continue this alongside my PhD. Compared with music during my undergraduate – where classical music felt highly competitive, and at times stressful – at Wolfson I found the music community to be more relaxed and supportive of musicians with different experience. It really helped remind me that music is something I’m passionate about and want to explore and share rather than just something to work at for performance.

I’ve been the Brian Moore Accompanist Scholar since arriving, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to develop my musicianship through this award. I took over organising our termly student showcase concerts a couple years ago and help to run our regular recital series alongside others in the music society. 

I also found a very friendly community in the Student Garden. With ample support and enthusiasm from Oscar Holgate (Wolfson’s Head Gardener) and the rest of the Gardens team, it’s been a lovely experience to organise our weekly gardening for the last few years. We’ve grown fruit and vegetables – with mixed success – and made acquaintance with our allotment robin! It’s been rewarding to engage with students, staff and alumni who share the same enthusiasm. Together we’ve learned a lot about the practical side of growing produce as well as eating with the seasons. It’s been eye-opening to experience the difficulty that growing food organically and in our changing climate can be – something I recommend everyone learn a little about!

In both cases it was that sense of openness that motivated me to get involved and help – spaces where people can just turn up, try things, and enjoy them without the pressure associated with our degrees.

Life at Cambridge is busy – why choose to give your free time to volunteering?

Simply put, these are things I love to do and are life-affirming. There’s nothing better than getting outside on a Sunday morning in the garden with others. Whether it’s growing vegetables and sharing them or learning about how we each relate to the outdoors, it’s endlessly rewarding, even if sometimes things don’t always go to plan. The same goes for music — bringing people together to perform, and then seeing everyone come out smiling and chatting about what they’ve just done, is a great feeling. Facilitating and enabling shared interests, often from the background, is very important to me.

It’s easy to assume that people around you are more confident or more experienced, especially in Cambridge where often you hear about others before you meet them. In the academic landscape and on social media there is often a sense of inherent judgement where we’re expected to continuously achieve our best. I think we should strive to find spaces away from this wherever possible, where we feel we can work at our best and relish exploring our interests from different angles.  

What skills or experiences have you gained through volunteering that you think might help you in your future career?

I didn’t get involved to seek out any skills or experience, just to explore whatever I’ve found enjoyable or interesting. However, the more I’ve been involved in these aspects of College life the more I’ve been able to gain from the opportunities that have been made available to me personally. Sharing my enthusiasm with others – getting musicians to step outside their comfort zone to perform and leading practice sessions with soloists – has been particularly valuable, and I hope also opens opportunities to them too. It hasn’t changed my goals, but I’d love to continue balancing each of my interests (academic and non-academic) as far as possible, seeking to always value creativity and creating shared opportunities.

What advice would you give to other students who are interested in volunteering or extracurricular activities, but might not know where to start?

My advice would be to explore all your passions, both academic and non-academic, and embed yourself in those communities in whichever way feels comfortable to you. Don’t worry about your previous experience or external expectations. We’re fortunate enough to be part of a community at Wolfson which is supportive in so many ways, so make the most of this and develop your interests here in a way which is important for you.

On reflection, sharing my non-academic interests with others has shaped my experience at Wolfson and had an impact on me, I think to a greater extent than my academic course. We’re here to learn across all aspects of what we do!

Learn more

This article is part of an ongoing series of profiles of Wolfson student volunteers. To learn more about how you can get involved, visit our Volunteering at Wolfson page. 

Pictured: Tom (second from right) volunteering in the College gardens with Wolfson students Berenice, Charlotte, Aisha, and Mi Jin (L-R)