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great to sample life in the US and experience American office culture, which is truly fast-paced and caffeine-fuelled! I’ve come a long way since 9am tutorials on American Poetry and Renaissance tragedies, but I will always remember the great education and opportunities available to me at Durham, and Collingwood, which have enabled me to get to where I am today.” CAREER PATHS ACROSS THE GLOBE Kapil Kirpalani (LLB Law, St Aidan’s, 2000 – 2003) was born and raised in Hong Kong. He chose Durham to study Law and has never regretted it, working in private practice in London and then back in Hong Kong for eight years after graduation. Kapil, after meeting senior banking professionals at a party, in 2006 set up a hedge fund with one office and four members of staff. Now, Pacific Harbour Capital Ltd has 35 members of staff working across eight offices. Kapil is a proactive alumni ambassador still based in Hong Kong. Readers may also remember the story of Vancouver-based war-time lovebirds, Harry Cullis (BSc Physics, Hatfield, 1937–40) and his wife Freddy, from the previous Durham First who met at Durham, but who, due to their international work in the war effort, were forced to spend many years apart. Bill Bunbury (BA English Literature, Hatfield, 1960–63) and his wife, Jenny (BA History, St Mary’s, 1961–64), also find themselves flying the international Durham alumni flag. Bill, having taken
up a teaching post in Western Australia in 1964 and Jenny following him shortly after, later became a founding producer of the ABC Social History Unit of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and found time to write 11 books! Meanwhile, married alumni Sarah (BA Combined Social Sciences, Hild Bede 1998–2001) and Phil Waymouth (BSc Natural Sciences, Hild Bede, 1998–2001) helped to cofound Tenteleni (www.tenteleni.org.uk), a project that sends over 100 volunteers each year from 12 UK Universities (including Durham) to work on nine charitable projects in five African countries. The project has just celebrated its ten-year anniversary. INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC POSTS Felix Riede (BA Archeology & Anthropology, Van Mildert, 1999–2002), originally from Germany, having completed postgraduate studies in the UK now works as Assistant Professor in Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. Roy Haines (BA History, St Chad’s, 1944–47), despite getting a 2ii in his degree, was encouraged by a Durham lecturer to pursue his research as a postgraduate. Roy, now retired, was Professor of Medieval History at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, and since retirement has published several books and examined a doctoral thesis at the Sorbonne in Paris. Bryan Spinks (BA Theology, St Chad’s, 1967–70) always thought he was destined for a different career path, but advice from a Chad’s tutor meant he eventually opted
for research over liturgy: “As I reflect on my undergraduate days, I assumed I would serve in a parish, and not in my wildest dreams did I expect my Durham training to take me via a circuitous route to a Chair at Yale.” ENTREPRENEURIAL ALUMNI Durham also appears to be a hub for nurturing entrepreneurs. Munir Mamujee (BA English Language & Linguistics, St Aidan’s, 1992–95) runs his own recruitment firm, ‘m2r’ (www.m2r.co.uk), covering the UK and Middle East, which has won several awards. Munir has even met Gordon Brown at Number Ten. Meanwhile, Annabella Forbes (BA Combined Arts, Hild Bede, 2005–08) has recently launched ‘bed&fed’ (www.bedandfed.co.uk), an innovative web directory that guarantees guests a ‘home away from home’ as well as allowing people to make money by renting out their spare room. She says the idea came to her when she was still studying at Durham. James Herbert (BA Business Economics, Hild Bede, 2000–03) is the co-founder of Find Invest Grow (FIG) (www.findinvestgrow.com), a company that promotes young entrepreneurship in the UK, particularly amongst graduates of the past five years. In this venture, James is effectively helping to create the next generation of entrepreneurs – and hopefully some of these will be Durham graduates.
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