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M A G A Z I N E

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Issue 2, Summer Term, 2014

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contents

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P20

P24

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

Updates 04-15

Confessions of an Aid Worker 16-21

Basma Nirmi, Jordan, a review 22-23

Travel Bursaries 24-27

Durham News 28-31

St Mary’s Choir Tour 32-33

What Durham Gave Me 34-38

St Mary’s Hardship Fund 39

Mary’s Memories 40-41

Graduation Feature 42-47

What’s Been On? 48-51

A Look Back 52-53

Career Mentor Update 54

Meet your new Alumni Officer 55

About our Friends Scheme 56-57

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Facebook www.facebook.com/StMarysOffical

Twitter https://twitter.com/StMarysOfficial

Linkedin http://ow.ly/tD8Hs

Email stmarys.alumni@durham.ac.uk

CONTENTS

04

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

welcome

SIMON HACKETT

COLLEGE PRINCIPAL

As we approach a new

academic year, it seems

an excellent opportunity to look

back on the highlights of 2013-14

at St Mary’s. It gives me great

pleasure to be able to report that

Mary’s students have once again

achieved academic success whilst

enjoying a wide range of social

activities, with the encourage-

ment and involvement of our

Junior, Middle and Senior

Common Rooms and St Mary’s

College Society.

First and foremost, most of you

will know that Dr Gillian

Boughton retired from her post

as Vice-Principal and Senior Tutor

at the end of the Michaelmas

term. In December 2013, friends

and colleagues gathered to make

tribute to her at a special dinner,

which proved to be an unfor-

gettable occasion for all con-

cerned. Rather than accepting a

leaving gift, Gill asked for

contributions to be made to char-

ities for Syrian children, a cause

very dear to her heart.

Before leaving St Mary’s, Gill was

able to join in enthusiastically

with the end of term festivities by

participating in our traditional

Christmas pantomime

‘Cinderella’, with the rather non-

traditional twist that it focused

on the trials and tribulations of

Cindy’s freshers’ week, finding

that she has been allocated to

Castle rather than St Mary’s.

Drama and music is always a

feature of life at St Mary’s and

other productions this year in-

cluded an innovative staging of

“Much Ado about Nothing” in

Epiphany term and our summer

musical 2014: ‘Rent’, a rock

musical based on ‘La Boheme’

was reviewed as “a brave, dy-

namic, and well-orchestrated

production”.

A programme of music events

such as ‘Mary’s Got Talent’ and

‘Live Lounge’ continue to

showcase the multiple musical

accomplishments of our students.

The St Mary’s Choir, under the

expert guidance of Joe Schultz,

performed to acclaim in services

held in the Cathedral and St

Oswald’s Church and a report on

their summer tour appears

elsewhere in this magazine.

Other events such as the annual

Fashion Show and the Fairtrade

Bake-off involved students and

staff and raised much-needed

funds for DUCK (Durham Univer-

sity Charities Kommittee).

Building on the success of the

Garden Party held in 2013, it was

decided that for 2014 the College

would host a theatre perfor-

mance of ‘Macbeth’ by Illyria,

offering an outdoor theatrical

experience in the ideal setting of

05

UPDATES

“ St Mary’s is a very special place and we

look forward to sharing it with you. ”

06

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

the SCR Lawn, inviting students,

parents, staff and alumni to

enjoy a picnic and a get-together

before the performance. A cast

of five played the roles, including

the three witches. The

entertainment continued in the

interval, with an entirely

unrehearsed comedy raffle

routine involving the Principal,

cast members and a number of

cuddly toys.

The College produced a Calendar

for 2014 featuring photographs

taken by students and staff.

Another Photo Competition has

been held this year, with some

great entries illustrating College

life and scenes of Durham City. A

2015 Calendar is being produced,

so look out for details of how to

get a copy, which will be sure to

revive memories of College and

Durham.

St Mary’s continues to increase

its reputation as a scholarly

community by facilitating

research-related activities and

hosted several visitors during

2013-14. Our Artist in Residence

during Epiphany Term was

Basma Nimri, an artist and writer

from Jordan, whose exhibition of

her work drew visitors from

across the University and interest

from the local art community.

Whilst living in College Basma

produced various new works of

art inspired by the College and

Durham itself.

Other visitors during the year

were two academics who

benefited from the St Mary’s

College Women’s Fellowship. Ms

Aytakin Huseynli, a senior social

worker in Azerbaijan, worked

with staff in the School of

Applied Social Sciences. Dr Ikram

El-Sherif, Assistant Professor at

Gulf University, shared her

research on Arab and Muslim

women in Western popular

culture and spent time in the

English Department and School

of Government and International

affairs.

The College also welcomed Dr

Larissa Brizhik who joined us

from the Ukraine during

Epiphany Term as COFUND

Fellow with the Institute of

Advanced Study. Dr Brizhik is

leading research fellow at the

Department of Nonlinear

Condensed Matter Physics at

Bogolyubov Institute for Theo-

retical Physics in Kiev. Whilst at

St Mary’s Dr Brizhik became a

valued member of the College

community, attending various

dinners and events, especially

enjoying the experience of the

Masquerade Ball.

I am happy to say that the new

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UPDATES

academic year will bring some

new faces to St Mary’s. Mrs

Catherine Paine is joining us as

Vice-Principal and Dr Dave

Robson as Senior Student

Support Officer. We are saying a

fond farewell to Imogen

Hampson-Smith, who in her year

in the post of Development

Officer has used her skills in

design and marketing to great

effect including in the production

of the Friends’ Magazine,

building a firm foundation for her

successor, Harriet Batchelor, who

I know is looking forward to

joining the team.

It gives me great

pleasure to be able to

report that Mary’s

students have once

again achieved

academic success

whilst enjoying a wide

range of social

activities

From this brief summary of some

of the activities in College this

year, I hope you will agree with

me that St Mary’s is thriving as

one of the most popular and high

achieving of all Durham’s

Colleges. It remains a great

privilege for me to be Principal

and I shall look forward to wel-

coming Friends to College when-

ever the opportunity arises.

Professor Simon

Hackett,

Principal

Congratulations| Barbara Laithwaite| awarded honorary doctorate

Congratulations to Mary's

Alumna Barbara Laithwaite

who received an honorary doc-

torate, along with her husband,

fellow Durham graduate, Tony

Laithwaite. Famous as the

founders and owners of

Laithwaite’s Wine, the world's

foremost home delivery wine

company.

The couple met as Durham

University students in the

1960s and support the Uni-

versity’s Institute of Hazard,

Risk and Resilience.

They were awarded their

honorary doctorates of civil

law during the congregation

ceremonies on July 2nd.

Mary's is very proud!

08

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

A YEAR IN REVIEW BY MATT WATSON| JCR PRESIDENT 2013-2014.

The academic year

has drawn to a close

and many students have made

the transfer to alumni following

another fantastic few days on

Palace Green for Congregation. As

we look back, we can see that

once again we have had a

fantastic year at this wonderful

College.

As usual our Arts Society had an

exceptional year. Arts President,

Emily Higgins, led the team

extremely well as our most

exciting and busiest Arts Week

culminated in the magnificent

Seven Deadly Sins Masquerade

Ball, marvellously organised by

Lizzy Howe and Rachel Pearson.

Basement Jazz performed at

countless College balls and Col-

lege days, including the Freshers’

Ball this year and continues to

grow in stature and acclaim under

the wonderful leadership of Luke

Bentley.

“Foot of the Hill Theatre” (our

Drama Society) also continued to

put on excellent performances

with many students being either

members of cast or crew at one or

more of these productions. As

President, Megan Frogley moved

from Director’s Chair to the stage

to star as a drunken,

promiscuous Fairy Godmother to

Bethan Stimpson’s Cinderella at

Christmas. Joey Green and

Andrew Dallamore also starred as

the hero, Buttons, and the villain,

Prince Charming and starred again

alongside Julie McElroy and Zoe

Marks in the wonderful

production of William

Shakespeare’s Much Ado About

Nothing which received fantastic

reviews from the student news-

papers, as did our summer

musical production of Rent, in

which Tom Thorpe, Greg Burr,

Alicia Lee-Clarke, Catherine Crook,

Rebecca Piper and Sarah Harrison

shone.

Mary’s sport did not have quite as

good year as we have done

previously in the overall sports

tables but this was due to fewer

teams being able to enter College

Festival of Sport due to tours on

which they were embarking. In

the regular season, we again had

a successful year with the cricket,

rugby and ultimate Frisbee clubs

achieving promotion. The hockey

club struggled with both the

men’s and women’s teams

eventually unable to avoid the

drop and looking to bounce back

next year. The women’s team did

reach the semi-final of the knock-

out cup however, a great result

considering the struggles in the

MATTHEW WATSON

JCR PRESDIENT

09

UPDATES

league. The Darts A Team were

narrowly beaten by Grey in the

Cup Final having finished third in

the league, but the standout

team this year were the Men’s

Basketball Team, led by Justin

Cheuk, who only failed to achieve

the league championship due to

a 40-0 walkover given against

them to Queen’s when they were

unable to field a team at the

second campus. This resulted in

the top 3 of Mary’s, Queen’s and

Collingwood finishing level on

points and Queen’s taking the

title on points’ difference.

At the Sportsmen’s Ball, we

honoured the standout

performances from this year with

a Most Valuable Player chosen by

the captain, a Player’s Player and

a Clubman of the Year from each

club receiving sports’ colours for

their efforts. Alex Hunt (4th Year)

and Ellen Gale (1st Year) were

awarded Sportsman and Sports-

woman of the Year for their

outstanding contributions and

the inaugural Team of the Year

award went to the Men’s Basket-

ball Team, before the Men’s

Football Club took the Sports-

men’s Ball title with their superb

performance to a Justin

Timberlake medley.

The Executive Committee have

once again gone beyond them-

selves to make the year at Mary’s

as incredible as they can. The

new Welfare at Mary’s (WAM)

team flourished with its new

accessible and friendly service

and the widely attended Burst

out of the Bubble events, which

went Ice Skating, climbing on a

High Ropes course and to the

beach this year. Will Oster and

Isla Robertson both now leave

Mary’s for a year to embark on

their year abroad but the impact

they have made will be noticed

for many years to come and they

rightly received full colours for

this.

I wish everyone at

St. Mary’s all the

success in the world.

The Social Committee also ran

many successful events and con-

tinued to provide a great deal for

students to look forward to, with

Dan Redhead spearheading this

successfully. The rest of the Exec

were also incredible this year and

it is very hard to name them all,

but I would also like to thank my

Vice-President, Chris Kingstone,

for being a brilliant support this

year in all the endeavours that I

have gone on.

The Great Gatsby themed Mid-

summer Ball, orchestrated by

Alex Aspinall, was also a huge

success and the sea of Brazilian

shirts on the SCR lawn for the

Mary’s World Cup on Mary’s Day

was a fantastic sight and the

£1300+ raised for the Motor

Neurone Disease Association and

The Rob George Foundation in

the Exec Auction was also a testa-

ment to the extreme generosity

of the students at St. Mary’s.

Looking forward, there was also a

record number of people running

for almost every position that

was open this year, resulting in

some very late nights at JCR

Meetings but it is obviously a

wonderful reflection on how

proud the students are to be a

part of this wonderful College.

Finally, I would like to say a per-

sonal goodbye and thanks to

everyone for this year. I have had

a wonderful year as President

and it has been an honour to

represent the College in this way.

I would like to thank all the staff

and students of St. Mary’s Col-

lege for their support and enthu-

siasm. St. Mary’s is a truly bril-

liant place to live and work and I

cannot think of a better way to

have spent the last year and I am

very sad to be leaving the place,

but I intend to be back for many

events in the future and I wish

everyone at St. Mary’s all the

success in the world.

10

IMOGEN HAMPSON-SMITH|ALUMNI RELATIONS

AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Welcome to the second

edition of St Mary’s Friends

Magazine. I’ve had such fun

putting this magazine together

and I really hope that you enjoy

reading it as much as I enjoyed

making it!

It’s been a fantastic year for me

here at Mary’s as the first Alumni

Relations Officer. It has been an

honour and pleasure to serve the

College and its alumni and I have

added considerably to the many

fantastic memories I have of this

wonderful place. Those of you I

have met in person or spoken to

via email and social media have

reminded me time and again how

special Mary’s is, not just as a

beautiful physical place but as a

longstanding community of warm

and inspiring people. I can only

hope that I am able to meet

many more of you at alumni

events in the future.

This magazine is tailored not just

to our alumni but is designed for

all our ‘Friends of St Mary’s’,

current students, parents, staff

and anybody who has a vested

interest in building on our strong

sense of community here at

College. For the first time, with

this edition, those Friends will

include our incoming students

and their families and so to all

our new Friends reading this

magazine I extend the very

warmest of welcomes. Please

enjoy this edition and hopefully

learn more about the fantastic

vibrant community you will soon

be joining

Mary’s is so special,

not just as a beautiful

physical place but as a

longstanding

community of warm

and inspiring people.

As always my primary aim is to

listen to your ideas for the future

of St Mary’s community. If you

are inspired by any of the articles

in this magazine, perhaps to run

an event, join our careers scheme

or get in touch with old friends.

Please feel free to email me at

stmarys.alumni@durham.ac.uk

and I will provide as much help as

possible for you to get involved.

Many of our most successful

schemes and events come from

the ambitions of our fantastic

volunteers who truly are ambas-

sadors for Mary’s. So I would like

to finally thank all our fantastic

volunteers who have done so

much this year!

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

IMOGEN HAMPSON-SMITH

ALUMNI OFFICER

11

UPDATES

This year has been a

cracking year for the

MCR. We introduced the

new positions of MCR Freshers’

Reps to assist with events during

Freshers’ Week and it really

made a difference. Tim Hughes

and Ansley Blalock helped the

new members - most only here

for a year - really get excited

about what the MCR can do. The

exec this year was mostly made

up of newcomers to Mary’s and

they all took their role seriously

and with a lot of enthusiasm, so

special thanks to Ansley, Jenny,

Paige and the two Daves!

Hopefully we can

continue the trend we

started this year of

more involvement,

more events and even

more successes!

We had St Mary’s MCR members

go to most of the Inter-MCR

Formals this year, and our MCR

members took advantage of their

dual MCR-JCR membership to

attend a lot of the JCR formals

and events. The MCR’s own

events were well-attended...

especially the ad hoc American

TV sports in the MCR! I’d like to

wish the best of luck to my

successor, David Van Rooyen and

his huge team of MCR Freshers’

Reps. Hopefully we can continue

the trend we started this year of

more involvement, more events

and even more successes!

BEXI DENISON SMITH| MCR PRESIDENT

2013-2014

BEXI DENISON SMITH

MCR PRESIDENT

Want to follow the JCR, MCR or Alumni

Office on Facebook? Just click below.

JCR

MCR

ALUMNI OFFICE

12

A BIG HELLO| FROM

AMY SIMPKINS

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

Hi Mary’s, I’m Amy

Simpkins, a third year

Theology graduate

with the honour of

taking over the role of

JCR President in

August. I fell in love with

Mary’s from the moment I

visited as a wide-eyed sixth for-

mer back in 2010 and, four years

on, that enthusiasm has not

waned in the slightest! During

my time as an undergrad I think

I’ve been part of nearly 20 sports

and societies, and recently

realised I’m a member of 50

Facebook groups related to just

Mary’s alone – the amount of

stash I have acquired is

astonishing, never again will I

need to buy a pyjama tshirt!

Over the past three years I’ve

represented Mary’s on the

hockey and football pitches,

whilst also organizing Old Boys

and Girls events for both clubs

too. I’ve played tennis in those

glorious post-exam days of

sunshine that we all look back

upon with such fond memories

and once upon a time dabbled in

a bit of fresher rowing too. I’ve

had the pleasure of witnessing

our Welfare Committee blossom

into WAM, with students driven

by Mary’s spirit ever eager to

improve the university

experience for those around

them. This spirit evidently

extends to all aspects of College,

whether that be on stage for our

Christmas pantomime, abroad

having hitch-hiked for DUCK, or

to new students on Open Days.

Along with the rest of College I’m

a strong supporter of Durham

traditions; a keen member of

Social Committee, I’ve watched

our formals and balls growing

bigger and better, with the

annual Mary’s Day and Mid-

summer Ball getting ever more

ambitious! I can’t wait to

represent such a fantastic

College and am really looking

forward to continuing the great

work Matt has done this year. As

our adopted Twitter slogan says,

there really is ‘something about

Mary’s’ and I’m very proud to be

a part of that!

JCR PRESIDENT ELECT

I fell in love with

Mary’s from the

moment I visited as

a wide-eyed sixth

former back in 2010

and, four years on,

that enthusiasm has

not waned in the

slightest!

13

UPDATES

“As our adopted Twitter slogan says, there really

is ‘something about Mary’s’ and I’m very proud

to be a part of that! ”

14

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

The St Mary's College Society (SMCS) is the society that is open to all old students of St Mary's College , whatever their age, whenever they graduated. It is, in fact, one of the oldest societies in the College! When students come up to Durham as freshers or as new postgraduate students they are asked to pay a modest membership fee to join the Society. On graduation member-ship becomes a reality . The Soci-ety is the ever-increasing body of alumni who are members of St Mary's College whenever they

graduated, wherever they live, and whatever they do; we are one community with those who are studying now.

Recent graduates as well as older generations are represented in the membership of our Society Committee: the present and Immediate past presidents of the JCR and MCR are automatically members. Like the College, we of course have both genders in our

membership. We try to promote events that will be of interest to all in various parts of the country, as well as an annual residential

reunion in the College, usually in September. In the spring we usually have a reunion lunch for those who can come to Durham for the day. Do try to book one of these occasions into your diary before too long- it's great to share stories of times past and to learn more of things present.

One of the Society's ongoing aims is to assist in enhancing the experience of current students in Mary's. From the modest income raised by the fee students pay on joining, we give financial help in a variety of ways via book grants from the St Mary's Society Book Fund, or by travel grants. This year, we are launching an annual bursary for a postgraduate stu-dent who wants to live in Col-lege. Some of the initiatives we have taken, like Mary's Angels, are now being progressed through the College, who are trying to use the expertise of alumni to benefit current students in careers advice.

HELLO| FROM THE

PRESIDENT OF ST MARY'S

COLLEGE SOCIETY Elizabeth Fisher succeeded Liz Manning as the President of our Alumni Society in 2011 after retiring to

the North East. She met her husband Peter ( a Chad’s man) here at Durham and her fascinating career

as a Canon in the Church of England has taken her all over the world. Here she writes about the work

of the Society within College and beyond.

“SMCS represents

both the traditions of

the past and

commitment to the

present and future of

the College.”

15

UPDATES

In these practical ways, SMCS represents both the traditions of the past and commitment to the present and future of the College. We like to think that we are some of the best advocates of life at Mary's, and some of its proudest products. Our older members knew they were pio-neering women in a man's world. Now, our graduates are still pio-neering on new frontiers. We look forward to seeing many of you at the events we sponsor,

and hearing of your successes. We hope that those of you reading this article who fall into the category of Friend of St Mary's who may wish to discover more of our activities will read the links to us on the College website. Those of us who are active in the Society know that St Mary's College is a real life-long community of people indebted to College. Often the demands of career and family can seem to loosen the bonds of belonging

and there are periods when some of us can become de-tached. But we know that we are always welcomed back into the community. Reconnecting is just a click away. It would be good to renew some old friendships and to make new acquaintances with the new Friends of St Mary's College, Durham.

Canon Elizabeth

Fisher. President

SMCS.

HELLO| FROM THE

PRESIDENT OF ST MARY'S

COLLEGE SOCIETY

Thank you| to Kyle Wong

Who took this edition’s cover photo

and many more of the beautiful

Images of Mary’s featured through-

out this magazine.

If you’re interested in seeing any

more of Kyle’s fantastic work then

please visit his Facebook site to view

his online portfolio.

www.facebook.com/

KyleWongPhotography

16

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

Confessions of an aid worker|

Sarah Packwood is a humanitarian aid worker whose journey since her days at Mary’s has seen her travel to

countries in crisis all over the world. Here she writes about her life and experiences after her time at Mary’s.

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

17

On 6th April 1994 a plane carrying President

Habyarimana of Rwanda was shot down.

This tragic event triggered immediate violence, which spread like

wildfire across the country leaving no family untouched. Genocide

killed over 800,000 people and uprooted one million people from

their homes, who fled to neighboring countries of Tanzania and

Zaire to seek shelter in refugee camps. Little did I know then, that a

year later I would be working in one such refugee camp in north-

west Tanzania. It is now April 2014 and the twentieth anniversary of

the horrific Rwandan genocide has prompted me to reflect on my

journey as a humanitarian aid worker. How did I get here?

FEATURE

18

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

I graduated in Biology from

Durham University in 1991 after

three very happy and formative

years at St. Mary’s College. There,

I forged life-long friendships, ex-

plored subjects I am passionate

about, joined campaigns, orches-

tras and music groups and min-

gled with students from different

countries. All this opened the

window on to the wider world- a

world I remain ever curious

about. I learned to stand on my

own two feet and be

resourceful, espe-

cially through 3am

essay crises, 5am

rowing practices and

furious dancing at

Student Union Freak-

outs!

Back then (gosh I

sound old), I could-

n’t get a job in Biology straight

away so I took a gap year to learn

how to apply myself. I did volun-

tary conservation work, a spell in

retail, a stint as an assistant war-

den at a haunted youth hostel

and volunteered on intermediate

technology projects in a Spanish

desert. Throughout I learned the

importance of serving others and

working hard whatever the task. I

went on to gain a masters in Rural

Resource Management at Bangor

University, where I had the op-

portunity to carry out my thesis

research in Kenya in 1993. Con-

fronted by the poverty of rural

farming families and the challeng-

es they faced every day just to

survive, I experienced an epipha-

ny. Africa stole my heart and I had

to return one day.

The following year, I was working

as an Assistant Scientific Officer at

the Forestry Commission in leafy

Surrey, a world away from the

slaughter, displacement and trau-

ma in Rwanda. However, a few

months later I took up a volunteer

position with a small, local charity

called Christian Outreach Relief

and Development (CORD) and

found myself on a plane bound

for Tanzania in 1995. I joined an

amazing team of aid workers

providing construction, medical

and community services to Rwan-

dan refugees in two large refugee

camps in Ngara. Tentative and

homesick, I struggled with the

shock of seeing refugees cramped

together in appalling conditions

and hearing accounts of their

traumatic experiences. I remem-

ber clearly a little girl who could-

n’t speak because she was trau-

matised, having been forced to

watch while her family was butch-

ered in front of her. She attended

a safe play group in the camp and

some months later I saw a glim-

mer of hope when she began to

play with other children.

Women and girls had been raped

and remained at risk, re-living the

horror again and again, while the

perpetrators lived

among them. Geno-

cide ringleaders had

found safety in

numbers while flee-

ing across the bor-

der and held the

camp populations in

a tight grip of fear

and intimidation.

Families of mixed Hutu-Tutsi mar-

riages suffered vicious attacks and

my colleagues and I helped them

to escape death threats when

they wanted to return home. It

was a steep learning curve, I was

stretched beyond what I per-

ceived my capabilities to be -

from being an administrator to

being a leader responsible for

coordinating community services

in a camp of 80,000 people. Com-

munity services included reunify-

ing separated families, providing

home-based care for vulnerable

“Confronted by the poverty

of rural farming families and

the challenges they faced

every day just to survive, I

experienced an epiphany.”

19

FEATURE

refugees and supplementary

meals for malnourished adults,

formal and informal education,

youth vocational

training, agricultural and environ-

mental initiatives, micro-credit,

support to sports and drama

groups and cross-border peace

initiatives. I learned the value of

team work. My fellow team ma-

tes taught me what I needed to

know and kept me going when

times were tough. However, I

learned the most from the refu-

gees themselves, how the resili-

ence of the human spirit can

shine through adversity. I remem-

ber with fondness Odette, who

ran our warehouse in the camp.

She had lost her husband to AIDs

and she lived with her son Eric.

One day she invited me to lunch. I

went to her home, a simple hut

made out of poles and plastic

sheeting. She had very few be-

longings but she had saved mon-

ey to buy a chicken to cook for

lunch because she considered me

an honoured guest. I was truly

humbled by her act of generosity

and kindness. Dignity, honour and

friendship were very important to

Odette, and I learned that refu-

gees are not passive recipients of

aid.

Since then I have worked in over

twenty countries for non-

governmental organisations and

United Nations agencies. I have

responded to conflicts in South

Sudan, Kosovo, Congo and Kyrgyz-

stan and natural disasters in

Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti,

Mozambique and Myanmar to

name but a few. In addition, I

have trained counterparts in dis-

aster risk reduction and protec-

tion of civilians in Barbados, Boliv-

ia, Kenya, Namibia, Papua New

Guinea, Sri Lanka and Thailand

and advised senior military offic-

ers during Peace Support Opera-

tions training exercises.

I have been touched by both trag-

edy and poignancy. The tragedy

of famine-stricken mothers carry-

ing their babies for miles and

miles to reach relief distribution

points and young boys recruited

into rebel forces in South Sudan

while the conflict rages on; refu-

gees returning to bombed out

buildings in Kosovo, once their

homes, and struggling to stay

warm in winter; and the fourteen

year old girl looking after her

paralysed grandfather in a camp

for internally displaced persons in

Congo, who had been repeatedly

20

forced from their homes as a

result of cyclical violence. I re-

member many poignant surviv-

al stories. For example, in Bangla-

desh an eighty year old lady ex-

plained how her niece had carried

her to safety across

the storm battered

delta to the cyclone

shelter and said that

twenty years earlier,

when the last mas-

sive cyclone hit, she

had carried her niece

to safety. In Colom-

bia, I witnessed fami-

lies, who had been

displaced by conflict

and organised crime,

receive a warm wel-

come and practical

support from other

displaced families

and brave nuns who

had stood up to

armed rebels. In Ethi-

opia, I listened to the

remarkable accounts

of older women who

were sent as envoys

for peace to broker agreement

between warring clans and in Sri

Lanka I met women and men who

had survived the Tsunami and

worked tirelessly to rebuild their

livelihoods so they could put their

children through College.

Being a humanitarian aid worker

means bringing life-saving assis-

tance to disaster-affected people

as quickly and safely as possible.

Humanitarian assistance has to be

appropriate, impartial, neutral

and based on needs alone. The

work is not for the faint-hearted.

It is not glamorous and risks are

high. Aid workers risk death, ab-

duction, injury and illness while

working in some of the most dan-

gerous environments in the

world. Just getting to work can be

challenging! In the last nineteen

years, I have survived several

dodgy plane, helicopter and car

rides, learned to drive a truck and

4 x 4s off-road and across rivers

(yes I can change a tyre by my-

self), waded through swamps,

trekked for miles

across desert, sailed

in dug-out canoes

and speedboats, and

rode on the back of

ox carts, motorbikes

and in the back of

pick ups. I even had

to co-pilot a plane,

while flying out of a

war zone! Much to

my surprise the pilot

sitting next to me said

‘Here hold this

(meaning the co-pilot

stick) and look out of

the window and tell

me if anything is com-

ing’ . I did as I was

told. Who wouldn’t?

Needless to say my

heart was in my

mouth all the way

back to base. Accom-

modation can be risky too. I’ve

lodged in a one-person tent

(where I lived for two years),

round wooden huts, concrete

boxes, containers, shady guest

houses on red light districts and

shared team houses, all of which

bring their own hazards i.e. rats in

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

21

FEATURE

the kitchen (Tanzania), cobras in

the shower and camel spiders in

my hut (Kenya), scorpions in my

tent (Sudan) and mice in the bed

(Kosovo). I’ve been homesick,

dirty, sweaty, stinky and sunburnt

and a home for numerous intesti-

nal parasites and malaria. Like

many humanitari-

ans I have, on occa-

sions, had to es-

cape on foot from

armed militia (very

rapidly), avoid aeri-

al bombings and

minefields, hit the

deck to avoid cross-

fire and been evac-

uated and medi-

vacced. I have ex-

perienced PTSD

and re-entry syn-

drome, (the latter

is the shock of re-

turning to one’s

own home environ-

ment and subse-

quent difficulties in

adjusting) which has left me won-

dering where I belong. Over the

years, quietly and gradually, the

realisation dawned on me that I

belong to a global family.

Despite the hazards of the job the

rewards are many but are not

necessarily obvious nor expected.

To me the smile of a child is

worth more than a wage, as is the

solidarity of walking alongside

survivors of conflict or disaster

and doing what I can to assist,

however big or small the job.

Along the way there have been a

few surprises. From the marriage

offer of 500 cows from a rebel

commander in South Sudan to be

his wife number two (I politely

declined) to a Congolese col-

league naming her baby daughter

after me in, which touched me

deeply, I am reminded of our

shared humanity.

Twenty years on from the Rwan-

dan genocide, conflicts and disas-

ters are still an every day reality

for many women, men, girls and

boys. In the coming years it is

highly likely that disasters, both

natural and man-made, will in-

crease in frequency and severity,

which will affect more people in

our world. We have a choice.

We can look on while this goes on

around us or we can lift a hand to

help in acts of com-

passion. We have a

collective responsi-

bility towards each

other and the planet

we inhabit to be

ready to act in order

to prevent and over-

come some of the

greatest challenges

of our time. As I

reflect on the last 19

years in the best job

in the world, I am

asking you, are you

ready to be a hu-

manitarian aid work-

er of the future?

If you would like to know

more about humanitarian

aid work, then drop Sarah

a line via Linked In here

http://www.linkedin.com/

pub/sarah-justine-

packwood/12/a98/602.

“Despite the hazards of the

job the rewards are many but

are not necessarily obvious

nor expected. To me the

smile of a child is worth

more than a wage, as is the

solidarity of walking

alongside survivors of

conflict or disaster and doing

what I can to assist, however

big or small the job.”

22

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

23

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

Dramatic, poignant and sombre;

the dull square of Kenworthy Hall

became a showcase of deep

emotion as St. Mary’s College

held an exhibition for its resident

artist, Basma Nimri, in March.

Hailing from Jordan, Basma is

unafraid of revealing the stories

behind each paintings, and it has

to be said that often they are sad.

Basma lost her sister to cancer six

years ago and in the paintings her

sister is clearly a figure harrowed

by what is happening to her,

already a ghost in the presence of

Basma. One painting in particular

is especially disturbing, with the

skin of the two sisters an Osiris-

like green, and her sister’s head

and gaze is turned far, far away.

Likewise, Basma’s louder

paintings also rise from her

personal conflicts. In one image a

woman’s face is covered in blood,

and when I asked for its back

story Basma eagerly told me of

how she was first trying to paint a

beautiful face, but upon hearing

about the violent turmoil back

home in Jordan and the Levant,

she was filled with such sadness

and anger at the troubles that

she dipped her hands in the thick

red oils and scratched the surface

of the painting. The result is a

wounded, lonely face, staring

bleakly through lines – or are

they bars? – of pure red fury. Her

use of oils is really what makes

her stand out as an artist; the

texture becomes as heavy-lidded

and thick as the convoluted

emotions held by the artist and

the dark, lugubrious colours like-

wise conjure this sense of pro-

found internal turmoil. When I

asked Basma what she planned

on doing next, she told me that

she would love to return to the

UK for another residency, and

that perhaps she will open up a

gallery with her sister in Santiago.

What is definite, however, is that

her time at St. Mary’s was life-

affirming to say the least. She

finished 9 works in her few

months at the College and the

brighter, less depressing colour

palette used in these painting

By Sophia Smith Galer

she was filled with

such sadness and

anger at the troubles

that she dipped her

hands in the thick red

oils and scratched the

surface of the

painting.

expresses her happiness in her

time here. One wonders what oth-

er brilliant changes we shall see in

Basma’s work over the course of

her career, one bound to be full of

both many exciting ventures and

challenges.

24

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

TRAVEL BUSARIES

St Mary’s is extremely proud of our

long tradition of empowering

students to experience the life

changing adventures of living and

working abroad. Our students

travel the world undertaking a

huge variety of important works

both charitable and academic

benefiting not just their personal

development but often whole

communities

St Mary’s College offers travel

bursaries to help support our

students in these endeavours.

Offering these bursaries is only

made possible as a direct result of

donations to the College. Many

would be impossible if it were not

for the generous gifts we receive

each year from our Friends and

alumni. Here a few students

recount their experiences of

following their passions across the

globe and say thank you all those

donors who helped enrich their

lives through their endowments.

If you think you would like to

consider donating to St Mary’s

please click here or email

stmarys.alumni@durham.ac.uk to

find out more information

Rory Bowe|

New Zealand Considering that I am only halfway

through my study abroad experi-

ence at Otago University in New

Zealand, I often question whether I

am jumping the gun in saying that

it is one the best decisions that I

have ever made. But then I

remember going skiing in July on

the Southern Alps, completing the

78km Heaphy Trek over 4 days,

witnessing the atmosphere of a

rugby showdown between the

Wallabies and All-Blacks in

Dunedin, the inimitable student

life here, or waking up at 2am for

two weeks so as to milk 1,100

cows. In essence, choosing New

Zealand, and most specifically

Dunedin, to be a University

student for a year has come with

some experiences that will be

indelibly inked onto both my

memory and me as a person.

Otago University itself, situated in

the ‘Edinburgh of the South’,

Dunedin, is a quintessential

student town like Durham, and

there are a variety of similarities

25

TRAVEL BUSARIES

between the two that have eased

my transition from the UK. For

example, both utilise a collegiate

system that facilitates the

integration of new University

students into a new and alien

way of life after school or College.

For international students, this

manifests itself in the University

Flats group, the main body

through which I was able to meet

other exchange students from all

over the world. Even only having

completed one semester in New

Zealand, I have managed to

accumulate a vast array of life-

long friends from every corner of

the globe, something that will

undoubtedly benefit me in later

life in terms of travel and

contacts. Perhaps the most

Important friends that I made

were my flatmates, 3 Americans

and a Kiwi. I imagine the contrast

between my friends in Durham

flatting with those that they have

chosen to earlier in the year, and

myself being expected to live in

harmony with people from a

completely different country that

I had never met before for 6

months! Luckily for me, they have

been incredible, and making

these friends has definitely

enabled me to feel completely at

home in Dunedin. However, I feel

“I have managed to

accumulate a vast

array of life-long

friends from every

corner of the globe,

something that will

undoubtedly benefit

me in later life”

that to delve into the essence of

studying abroad, one must

Immerse themselves into the

culture of the host country. For

me, this has been achieved

through making Kiwi friends, with

whom I have discovered places in

the country that I would have

never seen before, and had

experiences that one would not

otherwise ever hope to have as a

mere traveller.

In terms of academic studies,

Otago University’s Geography

department has fallen slightly

short of the teaching standards

that I feel I could have expected

in my second year at Durham.

Being inherently aware of this, I

have felt it very necessary to

push myself above and beyond

the work and reading set by my

lecturers at Otago. Although this

has meant that I have perhaps

spent more hours studying than I

would have otherwise, it has

benefitted me in terms of further-

ing my knowledge and bettering

my marks.

This is an incredibly condensed

version of my time thus far in

New Zealand, and I could easily

talk for hours about what a

worthwhile experience studying

abroad is. The initial decision to

leave the comfort of, quality of

teaching in, and friends that I

have made in Durham was

extremely difficult, but in

retrospect it would have been a

foolish decision not to seize this

once in a lifetime opportunity.

26

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

This last summer I travelled to

Likoma Island in the north-

eastern corner of Lake Malawi.

Likoma Island is only 18km2 and

the eight hour boat journey from

mainland Malawi means there is

a severe lack of jobs on the island

for the 10,000 inhabitants. The

traditional patriarchal society

prioritises job entitlement for

men, leaving the women and

orphans of Likoma without a

livelihood. A small artisan agency,

named Katundu, has been setup

for 26 women and orphans on

the island, aiming to financially

benefit and empower the women

on the island. This is where I

completed my research over a

period of two weeks. The aim of

this trip was to complete

research for my dissertation,

investigating the commonplace

premise that Fair Trade deliv-

ers the empowerment of wom-

en.

Living and working on Likoma

Island was in itself an eye-

opening experience. Working

alongside the ladies at Katun-

du, it became evident that the

initial barrier to both everyday

life and empowerment was in

fact the material reality of

severely limited means. As a

month of their wages at Katundu,

whilst generous, could only afford

them a bag of sugar, sheer surviv-

al becomes a daily problem.

Alongside this, the fact there is

no bank on the island refuses

inhabitants the opportunity to

create a savings account to

afford long term investments,

such as a tin roof.

As a white western geographer, I

was expecting the female em-

ployees to be concerned fore-

Harriet Batchelor | Likoma Island

“I wish to sincerely

thank St Mary’s for their

kind contribution of

£100 to a trip in the

region of £1500 which

otherwise would have

been impossible for me

to afford.”

27

most with equality, respect and

power at work and home. Whilst

these issues proved to be of con-

cern for some, the majority fo-

cussed almost exclusively on

monetary issues, reinforcing for

me the importance of localised

development schemes. Moreo-

ver, many of the ladies in fact did

not desire any structural changes

to society, claiming that as God

made Adam first, so the man

should be the head of the house-

hold and “you cannot refuse

God”. Shocked by this statement,

my main lesson learnt from this

trip was to maintain an entirely

open mind on research and even

as renowned geographer Spivak

wrote, trying to “un-learn” your

privileges as they prevent you

from intimately understanding

the crux of alternative cultures.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my

time on Likoma Island and found

it to be invaluable to both my

dissertation research and my own

personal growth. I wish to sin-

cerely thank St Mary’s College for

their kind contribution of £100 to

a trip in the region of £1500

which otherwise would have

been impossible for me to

afford.

The time that I spent in Harghita

region, Romania was one that I

will never forget. Originally I

chose the expedition as it was a

great opportunity to understand a

country that is so economically

and culturally different to Britain,

yet still in Europe. I applied to the

expedition to help children that

had experienced a completely

different start to their lives to

what I am accustomed and to give

them the love, care and attention

that they so deserved.

Romania, to me, was particularly

important as there have been

recent cuts in government fund-

ing for the ever-growing popula-

tion of orphans, and the main

source of funding and contact

with others is now through volun-

teer projects.

“thank you for helping

make this experience

possible.”

My experience of Romania was

unlike anything that I had ever

expected. My eyes were most

definitely opened and will remain

so. The children in the orphanage

apartments were admirable.

They welcomed us with open

arms, teaching us Hungarian,

willingly learning from us and

were much more courteous and

accepting of others than any oth-

er child I have ever encountered.

I have learnt a great deal from

this experience about how, even

though we may have had differ-

ent experiences in life, the funda-

mentals remain the same. With-

out a doubt I am going to return

to Romania with other members

of the group in the near future

and would like to thank you for

helping make this experience

possible.

Dan Redhead| Romania DUCK Expedition

TRAVEL BUSARIES

28

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

Durham News

29

DURHAM NEWS

Durham News Durham student secures a two-book publishing deal

Not many students can say they are spending their first summer

vacation from University promoting their debut novel. But talented writer Alice Oseman, who has just finished her first year of studying English Literature at Durham, signed a six-figure deal for her book Solitaire, which is released , Thursday July 31.

More about Durham student secures a two-book publishing deal

Re-search into 13th

Research into C13th bishop’s theories about rainbows published

An interdisciplinary study of how a medieval bishop’s theories inspired

modern thinking about colour conception and the rainbow has been

published in the prestigious journal, Nature Physics.

More about research into 13th Century bishop’s theories about rain-bows makes Nature Physics

Astronomers create precision map to calculate amount of dark

matter in far off galaxy cluster

Astronomers have produced the most precise map yet of mass

within a distant galaxy cluster allowing them to accurately

calculate the amount of dark matter within the galaxy system.

More about astronomers create precision map to calculate amount of dark matter in far off galaxy cluster

30

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

Two Durham University experts elected Fellows of the

British Academy

Durham University professors Sarah Curtis and Charlotte

Roberts have been elected Fellows of the British Academy. The

accolade recognises outstanding research in the humanities

and social sciences.

More about two experts elected Fellows of the British Academy

Excavations reveal Roman site of major importance

A Roman site of international importance has been discovered by Durham's

archaeologists in Northern England.

More about Excavations reveal Roman site of major imp

Tory plans on European Court of Human Rights ‘cosmetic

nonsense’, says legal expert

Conservative plans to loosen the UK’s ties with the European Court of Human

Rights in Strasbourg are either a cosmetic nonsense or wishful thinking,

according to a legal expert from Durham University.

More about Tory plans on European Court of Human Rights ‘cosmetic non-

sense’, says legal expert

“Cosmic own goal” another clue in hunt for dark matter

The hunt for dark matter has taken another step forward thanks to

new supercomputer simulations showing the evolution of our “local

Universe” from the Big Bang to the present day

More about “Cosmic own goal” another clue in hunt for dark matter

31

DURHAM NEWS

Twitter

#ttvolmgrs Thoughtful Thursday! This week 'The Rise of the University Vol-unteer!' http://ivo.org/P/kE Get in touch if you feel inspired!

Durham Alumni @durhamalumni Apr 3

Durham Alumni @durhamalumni Mar 27

What do you want from your alumni website? Let your alumni relations team know by taking this short survey https://www.dunelm.org.uk/onlinesurvey

Durham Alumni @durhamalumni Mar 21

@durham_uni Chancellor Sir Thomas Allen who has just received the Queen's Medal for Music. More info http://tinyurl.com/p6w4rty

Durham CEEC @careersatdurham Apr 13

Submit your photographs for "Memories of Durham" today! best photo wins a Kindle! http://bit.ly/1m0z65q @The-TabDurham

Excavations reveal Roman site of major importance

“Cosmic own goal” another clue in hunt for dark matter

Durham University named Eu-

rope’s leading centre for space

science researchers

Durham University has been named as Europe’s

leading university for highly-cited researchers in

astronomy and cosmology.

The Thomson-Reuters list of the “World’s most

influential scientific minds 2014” also saw

Durham ranked sixth in the world for the influ-

ence of its space science researchers.

Durham was the only UK University to feature in

the World Top 10, ranking above prestigious

institutions including NASA, The Max Planck

Institute for Astrophysics in Germany, and the

Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in

the USA.

More about Durham University named Europe’s

leading centre for space science researchers

Durham Alumni @durhamalumni Aug 01

Politicians from the main political parties debate the UK’s energy future @durham_uni 21 Aug http://bit.ly/UIssaF #ElectEnergy

Durham University @durham_uni Jul 31

Congrats to @durham_uni graduate Jon-athan Rex on receiving the Institution of Civil Engineers' Student Prize 2014 http://bit.ly/1n5MiDP

Why drugs are no longer cool' Prof Fiona Measham on why teenagers choose the internet instead via @Tel-egraph http://bit.ly/1l7iaYZ

Durham University @durham_uni Jul 31

32

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

The Chapel Choir of

St Mary's College

(SMCChCh) toured

Nice for a week this

July, performing three

concerts and a mass at some

of the most beautiful choral

music venues near the

stunning Côte D'Azure under the

direction of Joe Schultz.

We performed pieces from a

variety of periods by

composers including Tallis,

Rachmaninov and Gjeilo, and the

responses from the audience

were overwhelming.

As well as singing, we also got the

chance to relax on the gorgeous

beach, go swimming, para-glide,

visit museums, shop, attend the

Nice Jazz Festival and put on

impromptu performances for

strangers we met at our hostel -

and the Bastille Day firework

display on our last night in Nice

was the perfect end to such a

brilliant tour!

A massive thank you to Lucy Cole

for putting everything together

for this tour, and to Jonny Davies

for directing St Mary's Chamber

Choir, who also performed at the

concerts.

We would also like to thank the

CHAPEL CHOIR TOUR| A Review by Anuradha Damale

33

THE CHOIR TOUR

hosts at our concert venues for

being so welcoming and

accommodating, and for the

dozens of free water bottles

(which were a treat in the 30

degree heat!).

The Bastille Day

firework display on

our last night in Nice

was the perfect end

to such a brilliant

tour!

September will see our choir

welcome our new director,

Matthew Warren, who has been

singing with us for two years and

whom

we are very excited to work

with; and so we would

like to thank Joe for all his hard

work over the past two years

and for an amazing tour.

Please check out our YouTube

Channel, SMC Chapel Choir, to

see some of the pieces we

performed at our second venue,

l'Eglise Anglicane - the rest of the

pieces and more to come soon!

CHAPEL CHOIR TOUR|

If you’d like to

have a listen to

some of the choir’s

wonderful summer

performances

please click here to

visit their youtube

channel

34

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

What Durham

Gave Me| Maali Qasem Khader is a noted business woman, international lawyer, humanitarian and political activist

who has featured on the front cover of Fortune Magazine. Here she writes about her life at St Mary’s and

her fantastic adventures as an alumna.

35

FEATURE

October 1996 was a very

memorable time of my life. I

remember getting off at the train station at

Durham looking around trying to take it all in

hopeful of my coming three years at Durham

University.

I took a taxi and went to St. Mary’s my college.

At the time, St. Mary’s was still a singe sex

college and that had its perks – breakfast in pjs

and many more I shall leave to your

imagination. It was a very friendly place where

unlike other colleges I hear – we were a unit

especially when it snowed and we had to hold

the fort down.

When I choose Durham as my university, I was

unfamiliar with the collegiate system. Now,

knowing what I know I think that is one of the

best ways to integrate students into a university

and create a healthy peer collegiate system. We

studied at our faculties but we belonged in our

colleges.

It would be very difficult to sum up my three

years at St. Mary’s but what I will say is that

they were some of the best years of my life. I

had a fantastic time, had a great education and

most importantly created formidable friend-

ships most of which I still hold onto till this day.

36

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

By the time I graduated from

Durham University I was in love.

In love with the university, in love

with the castle and palace green

and in love with the city. Taking

the decision to do my

postgraduate degree in any other

university was one the toughest

choices I made but I knew if I

spent another year there, I would

never leave.

I was one of the fortunate people

who knew exactly what I wanted

to do in life – I want

to become a lawyer.

So in 1999 when I

graduated, I went on

to do my LLM in the

hopes of being

better equipped for

the corporate world.

When I graduated I

returned home to

Jordan and passed my Jordanian

bar and a few years later I passed

my New York Bar to practice law

more globally which I did.

Practicing law was a good career

but somewhere along the lines,

being part of the rat race and the

associated challenges the passion

diminished and I seeked

something more soulful.

Something that does not restrain

me to limited legal advice but

something where I can leverage

all the experience that I have in

the legal field to make a

difference.

So I took a trip to Africa and was

the first Jordanian to summit

Kilimanjaro and returned with a

clear vision of what I want to do. I

shifted careers towards

sustainability and instead of

advising clients on legal matters I

now advise clients on corporate

governance, corporate social

responsibility, sustainability and

sustainable development.

Today, my clients and partners

are not only corporations; they

are governments, international

organizations and civil society

organizations across the Middle

East. The work that I do varies

from providing strategic advice on

how organizations can be more

responsible to national

development projects that can

impact and change the way

people do business and interact

with communities not to mention

working with regulators to draft

laws instead of merely opining on

them.

Some of the key projects I take

pride in include drafting

corporate governance regulations

for various regulators in the

Middle East, creating a social

responsibility disclosure index for

the financial sector in Jordan,

creating a project whereby we

facilitate bridging the gap

between the needs and

expectations of the private sector

and that of civil

society organiza-

tions for sustainable

change in local

communities, ad-

vancing sustainabil-

ity practices in the

region by increasing

the number of

organizations that

report, lobbying for increased

support for entrepreneurs in

general and female entrepreneurs

in specific, encouraging more

stringent environmental

regulations and succeeding in

creating such changes.

Sustainability is a nascent field

worldwide let alone in the Middle

East. It was a challenge to create

the building blocks for a success-

ful business, build capacity, create

awareness and achieve some

positive change. Although there

“By the time I graduated

from Durham University I

was in love. in love with the

castle and palace green and

in love with the city.”

37

FEATURE

38

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

are days when it seems that no

matter what I do it is not enough

to create the change I seek there

are other days when it all seems

worthwhile – when I child comes

up to me and thanks me for chang-

ing their family’s lives, or helping

improve the education system or

when I mother thanks e for feeling

empowered to be herself.

Not to mention it also helps to feel

publicly appreciated and

recognized for the efforts invested.

Recognized as an upcoming global

women of influence, named by

Trustworthy Business Behavior as

one of the top 100 Thought

Leaders in Europe and Middle East

in 2011, and granted the coveted

Global Rising Stars of Corporate

“So I took a trip to

Africa and was the first

Jordanian to summit

Kilimanjaro and

returned with a clear

vision of what I want

to do.”

Governance award by the

renowned Millstein Center for

Corporate Governance and

Performance of Yale University all

help in ensuring that I continue

being vested in the work that I do.

Fortunately, my achievements are

many and looking back, if I had to

pick a moment where it all started,

where I found the strength to be

the person I am today, where I

learnt the skills to adapt to the

challenging needs of my career. . . I

believe I would say when I selected

Durham as my university.

At times when things are tough I

do ponder my Durham days and

on one occasion I did return to

Durham to rekindle the fondest

memories where I felt it all began

– where I became the person that I

am today.

Click Here to Follow Maali on Twitter

Maali is also a Regional

Director for ALWANE,

(Active Leaders for

Women’s Advancement

in the Near East) a newly

established Coalition of

experienced and

emerging leaders from 16 countries across the

Middle East and North Africa which has come

together to work towards the advancement of

women’s leadership in the Arab World.

Click here to follow ALWANE on Facebook.

39

FEATURE

You often hear about

the good times you

will have during your

time at university, but

sometimes you can be

unprepared for the

bad. At the beginning of my

second year at St Mary’s College I

was regularly travelling home to

see my elderly father, who was in

and out of hospital. Although I

worked in the summer holidays,

my finances were getting to

breaking point and money worries

were drastically affecting my

work. Eventually I got the courage

together to talk to College about

the problem, and I couldn’t

believe that I had waited such a

long time to do so.

I am not entirely sure

what I would have

done without your

help. It is an

invaluable extension

of the incredible

support and generosity

I have always felt from

St Mary’s.

They were incredibly supportive,

helping me through a government

hardship application and then

informing me about St Mary’s

College’s own hardship fund. Un-

fortunately I didn’t qualify for

government support, so when I

received £150 from St Mary’s

College I was incredibly grateful.

The money meant I could focus on

my studies for the remainder of

Michaelmas term, until I could get

back to work during the Christmas

holidays. I am indebted to those

generous alumni that donated to

the fund. I am not entirely sure

what I would have done without

your help. It is an invaluable ex-

tension of the incredible support

and generosity I have always felt

from St Mary’s. As a recent

graduate, I can tell you exactly

where my first donation to the

College will be going.

St Mary’s Hardship

Fund| A Student’s Experience

Thank you to all alumni and Friends who have donated to the St Mary’s hardship fund in the past, because

of your donations St Mary’s can help students continue their studies here at Durham.

If you feel that you are in a position to help other St Mary’s students who may be experiencing finical

hardship please do click here to donate

40

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

MARY’S MEMORIES

Recently we asked some current students, parents and alumni to share their favourite memories of Mary’s

with us. These are some of our favourite replies from those who attended the Principals Dinner, Graduation

Formals and replied through Social Media over the last few weeks.

If you’ve got a memory of Mary’s you’d like to Share with us in our next edition please email them in to

stmarys.alumni@durham.ac.uk

Sledging down the slope to

Williamson on Dinner trays in

December of first year. Building a

blanket den in the Fergusson stair-

well and watching the Royal

Wedding in the JCR drinking

Pimms out of a washing up bowl!

- Jess Williams (alumni)

●

“Decorating” Richard Hall’s room

with just paper cups filled with

water. The best part was his

reaction. He sat us down at

College dinner and told us he’d

been fined £250 by College for the

mess. Definitely got his own back!

-Emma Russell

(graduating student)

●

Meeting Jonathan’s friends in first

year. Great support which you

should take credit for! -Julie

Bourchier (parent)

●

When Ross, Ben A and Pete H and

I abseiled down the east stairwell.

We got disciplined by everybody

except from Gillian Boughton who

said she thought we were ‘heroic’.

-JC (alumni)

[editor’s note: Simon Hackett saw

the abseiling video on Youtube

and I like to think that’s when he

fell in love with Mary’s]

●

Being sat in the marquee at mid-

summer ball 2009 with all my best

friends at one table. Raising glass-

es in several toasts to Chaz Bono

and being told off for being too

rowdy

-James Michael Smith (alumni)

41

MARY’S MEMORIES

●

The first day of Uni for my daugh-

ter was on of tears for her. Her

last day of Uni was, reversing into

one of the lampposts on the

drive, one of tears for me!

-anonymous parent

●

Sneaking into castle SCR late at

night for a look and walking in on

a huge party. We tried to leave

unnoticed but got caught by the

porter!

-anonymous alumni

●

To Celebrate Katie Watkins’ AKA

the Dalek’s 20th birthday we

dressed in bin bags as Daleks and

got the strangest looks all across

Durham as people tried to guess

who we were!

-anonymous

●

My proposal to Isabel Cafferty in

Mary’s library at the start of

Epiphany term and all my

memories of the College

parenting/family system

-Ryan Cullen (alumni)

●

One Mary’s Day night when

someone left their tap on with

the plug in and flooded their

room to about two inches. They

eventually flooded the whole

wing and we had to keep towels

on the floor for a week.

-Bexi Denison-Smith

(graduating student and

MCR President)

●

From start to finish

Mary’s felt like home

whether it be drama,

music or sport. The

College has been such

a significant part of my

university life that I

will never forget it.

A huge thank you to

Simon and all the

College staff for

making my university

time the best years of

my life. I look forward

to returning.

SMCRFC

-Sam Hulley

(graduating student)

●

The legendary snowball fight on

Palce Green. Mary’s V. the rest of

the world

-anonymous

●

Waking each other up on Satur-

day morning to make sure we

were the first in the queue for

brunch—definitely the best meal

of the week. Then sitting in the

dining room for the entire dura-

tion of the meal to avoid going

back to work

-Alice Thickett (alumni)

●

Final term exams it was my birth-

day. My friends removed all the

furniture from my room and re-

placed it with a giant paddling

pool. They filled it with water and

we spent the afternoon relaxing

in the pool and drinking beers

avoiding revision.

- Michael Armitage (alumni)

[editor’s note: Michael Gaunt

(alumni) would like to say as he

remembers it “the beer bottles

were actually filled with water,

then everyone went to lectures

and recycled the beer bottles”]

●

Being bored one day and trekking

down to Pets at Home en masse

to buy two Gerbils which we then

had to keep hidden, moving them

between our room and avoiding

the cleaners for the rest of the

year!

- anonymous alumni

●

42

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

GO CONFIDENTLY IN THE DIRECTION OF YOUR DREAMS|A

MARY’S LOOK AT GRADUATION

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Mikowski

43

GRADUATION

Congregation Week

in Durham is always

such a special time.

Amidst the huge buzz of

countless ceremonies, drinks

receptions and family meals is

the knowledge that your time

at university, often the defini-

tive experience of your life so

far, is coming to an end.

Congregation presents a heady

mixture of sadness and

excitement. It represents both

the burgeoning adventure of

post university life and, often,

the feeling of loss that accom-

panies the ending of an era.

In this feature a few

graduating students share

their photos and memories

from Congregation 2014.

To all of our Graduating Class

St Mary’s College would like to

say how proud we are of each

and every one of you. You are

all a credit to this university, to

this College and to yourselves.

Your Graduation is

not the end of your

association with St

Mary’s but rather

the gateway to a

bright future

Your Graduation is not the end

of your association with St

Mary’s but rather the gateway

to a bright future as a member

of our illustrious and vibrant

alumni community. We urge

you all to register for an alum-

ni account with Dunelm.org

and to follow the College

alumni page on Facebook

which will let you keep up to

date on Mary’s news and

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Mikowski

Jonny Bourchair and Rebecca Mikowski

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Mikowski Hannah Bedding

Photo courtesy of Michael Walker

Michael Walker and Will Walker From left to right. Ellie Roberts, Catherine Redfern, Natalie Vaughan,

Laurie Woodhead, Mary Palmer. Photo courtesy of Steve Vaughan.

44

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

Natalie Vaughan “I have had the best time of my life in

Durham but I’m also so excited to be

moving on to new and exciting things.

Thanks for everything Mary’s I’m going to

miss you!”

Photo courtesy of Steve Vaughan

45

GRADUATION

As a recent 2014

graduate, I haven’t

really had much time

to mull over my

graduation. When asked to

reflect on graduation for this article, my prevailing memory of the time between receiving results and graduating is of hectic to-ing and fro-ing: filling out a seemingly endless supply of forms for graduation in an effort to make the day less stressful. Photographs, robes, and parchment…it all came in a barrage of deadlines and online forms that sometimes left me wondering if the fuss was worth it.

I woke up on the morning of my Congregation with everything in place. I had double and triple-checked the day’s itinerary to make sure I wouldn’t miss any-thing, and I was surprised to find that I was nervous. I was remembering my four years at Durham (well, technically three, but I assure you during my Year Abroad my heart still well and truly longed for the drizzle and mist of Durham), and thought about how everything culminated here: this was the denouement of a story that began at a rather bleary-eyed matriculation on an October morn-ing in 2010. From this point of view, the Congregation ceremony was in fact the most important day

of my university career. However, I swiftly put this out of my mind and decided to concentrate on making it up onto the dais and shaking Sir Thomas Allen’s hand with as little incident as possible.

The ceremony itself was wonder-ful; there’s no other word for it. It struck a perfect chord between tradition and progress, with just the right amount of pomp and circumstance. I happened to be seated on the front row of graduates, so anyone who owns the DVD of the last Congregation of 2014 can see a rather gormless-looking blonde girl for a large por-tion of the ceremony. I promise you I was simply in awe of the fabulous location in the Cathedral and the joyous atmosphere. I was aware I was witnessing Durham University at its very best, showing itself to be a well-oiled machine in an entirely positive way.

“I was aware I was

witnessing Durham

University at its very

best”

Later that evening I enjoyed a drinks reception at St Mary’s and say a few farewells to people I had not seen earlier in the day. I was able to introduce my family to members of St Mary’s staff,

enabling me to finally tie my lives of ‘Home’ and ‘College’ (or, as I like to think of it, my ‘Other Home’) together. It was a wonderful conclusion to a happy yet poignant day.

For those yet to graduate, I am supposed to offer some advice. All I seem to think of is: try to look normal if you are seated on the front row! I learnt that one the hard way…. However, more generally, never let yourself get too stressed by the details; where you go for dinner after graduation may seem important, but I guarantee that a slightly tepid main course will not be able to upset you on your graduation day. Moreover, after a year where you seem to be unable to ignore your rapidly approaching ‘future’, Congregation is the perfect day to look back and feel proud of your-self and your cohort whatever your plans are beyond Durham and St Mary’s.

My Graduation Experience|

By Mary Palmer

46

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

My Graduation Experience|

The nail-biting

anticipation of results

day had passed. I had

done it. I was a soon to be

graduate of St Mary’s College,

Durham University. Gulp. Having

spent 4 years leading up to this

moment, I couldn’t quite believe it

was upon me, in fact a month later

I’m not entirely convinced that

there isn’t someone on their way

right now to whisk it all away.

Grad week was a whirlwind of

celebrations and tearful goodbyes.

One day I was rushing up to the

Cathedral to congratulate slightly

wide-eyed friends as they

processed from their own

graduations, and the next it was

time for my own. 6 45 AM and I

was rushing along Durham’s cob-

bled streets on my way to Palace

green, running ‘exactly on time’ as

usual. I needn’t have worried,

Durham graduations run like a well

-oiled machine. I followed the

routine in a slight daze, trying to

savour the moments, so that I

might relive parts of the day at a

later date, after all I was only going

to do this once. So I had my gown

fitted in the building where I had

seen so many enthralling debates,

and I collected my tickets from the

marquee where I had just the

week before enjoyed an incredible

summer ball, and then I followed

the swarm of white fur into the

castle.

Graduation week must be a

logistical nightmare, but every

member of staff involved was very

enthusiastic, even at 7 AM on the

third day. They seemed incredibly

proud to be there for us which

certainly made the day more

special. Dr James Blowey, the head

of the Natural Sciences depart-

ment, beamed as he shock every

one of our hands. He was a huge

part of my Durham journey,

through the good and bad so that

was a lovely touch.

I barely recognise that

slightly terrified

eighteen year-old.

The ceremony itself was inspiring,

partly because of the awe-inspiring

Cathedral itself, who could ask for

a more perfect setting, but also

because of the Vice-Chancellor’s

speech about all those that had

gone before us, and the success

that they had found. I grinned as I

crossed the stage to accept my

degree and become part of that

legacy (and not only because I had

succeeded in not tripping up the

steps).

As we processed from the

Cathedral I was taken back to my

second day at the university when

I matriculated there, excited and

yet anxious about what the next

few years might bring. Before my

parents drove away that day they

took a photo of me standing on

the steps outside the Fergusson

building, looking slightly over-

whelmed in my brand new gown.

Since then so much has happened,

so many memories made, life

lessons learnt and St Mary’s red

wine spilt on that now comfortably

familiar gown, that I barely

recognise that slightly terrified 18-

year-old. Later on graduation day I

recreated the picture as the much

more confident me that Durham

has helped me become. I am in-

credibly sad to leave Durham be-

hind, but I am so proud to have

become not only a Durham

university alum, but also an alum

of St Mary’s College.

47

GRADUATION

“I am incredibly sad to leave Durham behind,

but I am so proud to have become not only a

Durham University alum, but also an alum of

St Mary’s College.”

Hannah Storey

48

What’s been on at Mary’s?

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

The Midsummer Ball|

17.06.14 This year’s Midsummer Ball

was a fantastic success. The great Gatsby

theme chosen by Alex Aspinall (chair) and her

fantastic team transformed Mary’s into a

luxurious, glamorous 1920s party. As always

highlights included fairground rides, a silent

disco and the infamous saviours hog roast

served until 6am when the survivors photo is

taken to document all those brave ball goers

to made it to the end of the twelve hour long

extravaganza.

Photos courtesy of Anu Damale and Rebecca Mikowski

49

MARY’S NEWS

Macbeth|29.06.14 This year

saw the Illyria outdoor touring company visit

Mary’s for the very first time. The internation-

ally renowned Shakespearean troupe treated

a huge audience to a fantastic, moving and

often humorous performance of Macbeth. A

half-time raffle conducted by the actors and

Professor Simon Hackett was a light-hearted

highlight of the evening!

RENT| 24-25.06.14 Rent

provided the script for this year’s excellent summer

musical which saw some of the most talented of all

Mary’s student's take to the stage. The musical ran

to critical acclaim in Mary’s dining hall in a two

night run receiving great reviews from DST and the

Palatinate who called the performance ‘ a brave,

dynamic, and well-orchestrated production’

You can read the Palatinate review here

Photos courtesy of Anu Damale

50

Mary’s Day| 22.06.14 Mary’s Day always proves the highlight of the

College calendar for current students and alumni

alike and this year proved no exception. President

Matt Watson and his tireless team put on a

fantastic celebration of all things Mary’s with a

great event themed around the Brazilian World

Cup. Mary’s lawns were transformed with

inflatable football, live music, great food and a

brilliant foam party!

This year also saw the first Principal’s Dinner, a

returners formal for alumni coming home to join

in the celebrations. The event was a resounding

success with over 50 attendees flooding

Kenworthy Hall to book out all available tickets!

Attending Alumni also provided us with some

fantastic memories of their time in Durham for

our memories project (p.30)

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

photos courtesy of Beth Rudd, Owen Graham and Lucy Rosa.

51

WHAT’S ON

What’s On?

Durham Events |

20.10.14| St Mary’s Society Mini

Reunion Weekend This year’s society reunion will

be limited to just one day to fit in with the new server being

fitted at St Mary’s. The Day will be one full of excitement

however with the SMCS AGM, Cream Tea, a Chapel service

and an evening meal all on offer. Accommodation will be

available with a basic breakfast provided, if required. Please

visit the society website for More details.

30.03.14-30.09.14| Auckland Castle:

The Power and The Glory Exhibition Enter the magnificent world of early Tudor England in this

temporary exhibition at Auckland Castle, the former home of

Bishop Richard Fox (1494-1501), who was Henry VII’s most

trusted advisor. More details.

05.04.14-05.10.14|Oriental Museum:

Shifting Sands

an exhibition of rare and beautiful photographs from Sudan

taken by the anthropologist Ian Cunnison telling a story of

migration, everyday lives and inter-ethnic relationships in

late colonial Sudan. More details.

Photo courtesy of Oliver Grimmett

52

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

A look back| poetry,

songs and wedding bells

Taken from Castellum 1984

(minutes of the previous year's

Castle Society AGM):

8) The Secretary reported that he

had received an anonymous poem

which reflected the plight of a lady

most concerned with the conflict

of reunion dates:

I am a Mary's woman,

My spouse a Castle man,

We like to come to Durham

As often as we can.

When vital dates don't coincide,

There's never any hassle;

A short debate, an equal vote,

Result - the winner's Castle!

Now Mary's makes me welcome

With breakfast, lunch and tea,

But the hours between seem long

sometimes

When there's only me!

Autonomy is excellent,

But is not always very kind,

Let's have individual decisions,

With the same weekend in mind!

A quick google search reveals that

Durham is thought to have the

highest rate of inter student

marriages in Britain, with over

10,000 couples claiming to have

met at the University, The

Independent estimates that give a

Mary’s student a 72% of marrying

a fellow Durham alumnus!

This got us trawling through all the

old publications in the Office to

see if we could find anymore

poems or songs about Durham

love. Here’s what we could find...

Last month we were sent this wonderful old poem by the Castle Alumni Officer which documents the plea

of a Mary’s alumna for Castle and Mary’s reunion weekends to fall on the same dates so she and her

husband can visit Durham at the same time

53

A LOOK BACK

A College Song for

1950| (verse 2).

In Abbey House on Palace Green

dwell twenty fair young students;

Men take advantage of their teas

and also their imprudence.

In spite of Castle’s Christmas

raids, and many an amorous

meeting, it’s not their love which

keeps them warm but Elgy’s

central heating. And though their

gate book may proclaim that they

are fond of walking, they’re really

sitting on a seat not wasting much

time talking!

New St Mary’s| (song.

1952, verse 2).

It’s a long way to Hatfield College,

an to Castle on the hill; Oh the

Johnsmen all will miss us, an the

Chadsmen will be ill. Prin said ‘I

can hear you under my front

door,’ So remember girls be

careful—don’t stand there no

more!

A College Song for

1952| (verse 5).

Now we who lived in College just

had to toe the line, with Swinn

and Prin and Bursar—and B.J

most of the time. The fire-escape

proved useful; the Bailey we could

see; The walkers-past didn’t walk

to fast, so we asked them up for

tea!

St Mary’s Sunday

School| (song. 1954,

verses 4-5).

If you’re all romantic, then come

and join the ranks of those who

stand on Prebend’s bridge and

walk along the banks; And don’t

believe what others say—

experience is good, So leave your

torch behind you when you walk

through Pelaw Wood.

We think we’ve told you quite

enough, and now it’s up to you: At

Mary’s dance you’ll have the

chance to find a man or two. But

if you’re not successful, perhaps a

B.A. hood will do!

A College Song for

1955| (verse 2).

When we came to St. Mary’s, so

many moons before, we never

spoke to Hatfield men, and Chad’s

we would ignore; But now it’s all

so different and much more fun

we’re sure—With a rush and a

dash to the porter’s lodge and a

tumble through the door.

Second Year Song for

1957| (verse 4).

Do you want a Castleman? Or if

not, a Hatfield College man? A

Chads or John or Cuthbert’s man?

St Mary’s is the place. But we

must now stay out all night, the

windows barred up tight; Dashing

along the banks at night, trying to

avoid the policeman’s light, In

Mary’s nightly race.

These Foolish

Things| (poem/song,

1949, Lines 5-11)

A happy gathering of intending

teachers’ a light flirtation with

incipient preachers; Oh, how a

Chadsman clings! These foolish

things Mary’s means to me. They

came, they saw, they stayed for

tea—and after draining a cup or

two, they said they’d stay for

supper too…

Did you meet your husband or

wife while at St Mary’s? Perhaps

you’d like to share your story or

some pictures in the next edition

of this magazine.

If so please email in to

stmary’s.alumni@durham.ac.uk

54

Career Mentor

Update

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

In the last edition of this magazine

we announced our plans to launch

a comprehensive career mentoring

programme which will link current

students and recent graduates

with professional alumni or friends

of College in their chosen field.

We were overwhelmed by the

response we received. Dozens of

alumni and Friends provided us

with their professional information

which allowed us to run a small

trial of the scheme. This trial was a

significant success, as one student

wrote in her feedback of the

scheme

‘I've been given some really helpful

advice about careers, my course at

the moment and decisions for next

year etc. We've also been able to

talk about our experiences at

Mary's which has been nice too.

Overall I'm very pleased I signed

up for this, thank you for making

us aware of it!’

Some of you who have signed up

from the scheme might be yet to

hear back from us but please

worry not. We have plans to

expand and grow the scheme

significantly in the coming months.

We are currently waiting on the

development of centralised soft-

ware which will allow us to safely

and effectively handle the data of

the hundreds of people we

envision the scheme eventually

encompassing.

We are extremely fortunate to be

members of a College with such an

extraordinarily diverse and power-

ful network of friends. Together,

we are working to support our

current students’ career ambi-

tions, prospects and employability.

participation and engagement as

the project develops.

Please do consider signing up to

be a Mary’s Alumni Angel here.

55

CAREER MENTORING

Meet Your New Alumni Officer| Harriet Batchelor

Hi! My name is

Harriet Batchelor and

I am thrilled to be the

next Sabbatical

Development Officer!

Looking back on the past three

years, I am certain I could not

have found a better College for

my time at Durham. Yes, the

location of the science site a

mere 2 minutes walk over the

road has proved useful for those

early 9am lectures, but the

Mary’s charm extends well

beyond it’s handy location and

beautiful grounds! In fact, it’s fair

to say I have loved every aspect

of life at Mary’s, from playing in

tennis tournaments dressed as a

‘Mary’s fairy’ to performing in

‘We Will Rock You’ in a pink wig

and green lipstick (my fancy dress

wardrobe has definitely

increased)! The Mary’s spirit of

getting fully involved in every

event, no matter of ability, is

incomparable - a few of my own

dancing performances with the

hockey club at the Sportsman’s

Ball spring to mind! St Mary’s

combination of both new and

traditional events definitely

makes for an enjoyable social

calendar. I don’t think there’s

one person who can say they

I cannot wait to

continue organising

events which extend

the Mary’s spirit

didn’t secretly love feeling like an

extra from Harry Potter whilst

going to matriculation in our long

gowns! Working on the Social

and Arts Committee, I’ve had the

pleasure of organising events

from our termly balls to the first

ever ‘Mary’s Got Talent’ - my

house seems permanently

submerged by event decorations!

Looking forward to the coming

year, I cannot wait to continue

Imogen’s fantastic work in organ-

ising events which extend the

Mary’s spirit to current students,

alumni and friends of St Mary’s

alike.

The Mary’s spirit of

getting fully involved

in every event, no

matter of ability, is

incomparable - a few

of my own dancing

performances with

the hockey club at

the Sportsman’s Ball

spring to mind!

56

About the Friends

Scheme|

ST MARY’S| FRIENDS MAGAZINE

Although I know how much the College means for alumni, many of whom retain a lifelong link

with the College, I have come to realise that family members, friends and supporters of

students might also be interested in the College and may appreciate an opportunity to feel

connected in some way, whilst of course allowing students their independence. As a result, we

have created a ‘Friends of St Mary’s’ scheme to help people to keep in touch with the College,

irrespective of their original connection with College. As well as issuing a standing invitation to

visit St Mary’s, Friends will receive regular updates and newsletters, as well as invitations to

special events, such as a Friends’ Formal Dinner, and opportunities to contribute to College

developments, such as enhancing our library.

I hope that you will consider registering as a Friend of St Mary’s and that this will herald a deep

and meaningful relationship with you in the future! As many readers know already, St Mary’s is

a very special place and we look forward to sharing it with you.

With very best wishes,

Professor Simon Hackett

(Principal, St Mary’s College)

57

Receive our College Magazine| Members of the programme will receive a digi-

tal copy of our termly alumni magazine along with various newsletters and other information about

concerts, lectures and events which we send out to our alumni and friends.

Event Invitations| Members will receive targets emails with details of College news and

upcoming ‘Friends Of Mary’s’ events around the country which may be of interest to you.

Friends of St Mary’s Arrival Lunch and Pick Up Formal|

Members are invited to attend a lunch in the College Hall the weekend before the start of Easter Term

– the Saturday on which most students come back into residence following the Christmas Break. They

are also invited to a Formal Three Course Meal at the end of Easter Term, the weekend most students

leave for the Easter break.

Sweet Treats| Members will eventually have the opportunity to pre-buy sweets, ice-cream,

shop essentials and toasties from our College Shop and Toastie bar and have them delivered to Mary’s

students as an exam time boost or special treat

FRIENDS

Register Free Today

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St Mary’s College

Elvet Hill Road

Durham

DH1 3LR

0191 334 5955

www.durham.ac.uk/st-marys.college/

Principal

Simon Hackett

Email: simon.hackett@durham.ac.uk

Alumni Relations and Development Officer

Imogen Hampson-Smith

Email: i.r.hampson-smith@durham.ac.uk

01913345972

Facebook www.facebook.com/MarysAlumni

Twitter https://twitter.com/StMarysOfficial

Linkedin http://ow.ly/tD8Hs

Email stmarys.alumni@durham.ac.uk