Hippocampus 2019

HIPPOCAMPUS 2019

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Hippocampus 2019 Contents

College Welcomes

College Societies

College Updates

Bursary Reports

Alumni

How Can You Help?

Alumni Committee

College Merchandise

College Projects

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Welcome from the Principal unfamiliar university – in a city called Durham – which as a Welshman I assumed to be somewhere near the Cotswolds or possibly even as far distant from Wales as Birmingham.

I feel an odd sense of inverted affinity to the main protagonist in Franz Kafka’s The Trial, which opens thus: ‘Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything truly wrong, he was arrested.’ In my case it was that one evening, without having done anything truly right, I was asked to consider being a college Principal! That was a long time ago now; and this is to be my last and, in a way, strangest contribution to Hippocampus of the ten or so penned since joining Trevs in 2008, since I contemplate retirement at the end of this coming September and have been asked to offer a few reflections on years behind and, perhaps, projections upon years ahead.

Let me say at the outset that my eleven years at Trevelyan have been the most rewarding of my university life, and let me say something of why this is the case.

I joined the Philosophy Department in Cardiff in 1986 at a time when some of the key texts in much contemporary philosophy had yet to be written, something particularly true in my own preferred field, philosophy of music.

The next sixteen years saw a switch into philosophy of medicine, an almost exclusive preoccupation with postgraduate teaching, the arrival of a family and a mortgage, the eventual headship of my department, the launch of a new degree course and the founding editorship of an academic journal and, near the end of that time, a curious approach from an

The invitation was to consider bringing my journal editorship to the ‘third oldest university in England’ as part of a role to be combined with serving as the founding Principal of a new college, named after ‘the father of epidemiology,’ Dr John Snow.

Looking back, I suspect that the University of Durham had worked its way down a list of others who had declined before they got to me, but at the time I was shall we say ‘tickled pink’ by the approach, and only slightly deterred by discovering that Durham was actually about an eight-hour journey from Swansea on the train.

John Snow College, at the time based at the Queen’s Campus in Stockton, is now firmly a Durham city college with new premises and facilities to look forward to – a far cry from the early years when the JCR had only a small office and no social space to call their own, and when both Snow and Stephenson Colleges shared a part-time secretary. It seems somewhat tragi-comic to recall that the University eventually yielded to pressure to address the disparities between the Stockton and the Durham student experiences, and provided Snow and Stephenson each with a pair of Portakabins – yes, Portakabins – in which their JCRs could take up residence.

But it was also at Snow College that I realised that the collegiate approach – the ‘Collegiate Way’ as I later came to call it – was the finest form of university education I could imagine, and that it was a privilege to be allowed to serve that approach in the role of College Principal. However I also realised that I was becoming increasingly frustrated by the disparity of opportunities available at Stockton and Durham city respectively, and as a result was probably starting to become less effective

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in my advocacy of Snow College. It was time for a change – a change for me, and a change for Snow.

So it was that in 2007 I was appointed to be the Principal-elect at Trevelyan – though not actually taking up the post until Nigel Martin, my esteemed predecessor, retired the following year. The interim was a long and impatient one, during the course of which I fairly salivated over the prospect of a college rejoicing in such a Library!

And such a Tutor system! When I finally arrived at Trevs – and moved in to the Principal’s hexagonal House where ordinary furniture seems never to fit properly – I resolved that my first task must be not to spoil anything, the collegiate equivalent of the medical nostrum ‘First of all, do no harm.’ On my very first day I found on my desk handwritten letters from two previous Principals, wishing me well: what a testament they were to the continuity of a college community that was cherished, and what a welcome!

Regular readers of Hippocampus will know the most conspicuous and the most celebrated occurrences and events of the intervening years, reported each year and in no need of detailed resumé here. It was a decade of major evolution in the JCR, becoming first a charity, then a Durham Student Organisation, and now considering for the first time employing a Sabbatical President. It was a decade of growth, in which the student body increased by nearly 50%, though our resource base has remained static and we gained no new bedrooms. It was a decade of achievement, with everremarkable degree results, success at the London Olympics for an alumna, endlessly wonderful musicals and – a highlight for me – a public performance of a complete Bach cantata by our own in-house chamber choir and chamber orchestra. It was a decade of challenge, with numerous reviews of the manner and extent of the ways in which colleges support students, manage their finances, run their operations and deliver catering. And it was a decade of reflection on things collegiate

by an increasingly self-aware and confident international collegiate community, for whose deliberations the flame was lit here in Durham at the inaugural Collegiate Way International conference in 2014; the fourth such conference is planned for 2021, in New Zealand.

In my own case the eleven years at Trevs have been, quite simply, the best of my professional life. Ten were spent as Principal, the eleventh as Chair of Colleges and now, in my final six months, as Interim Pro-ViceChancellor for Colleges and Wider Student Experience. Trevs has taught me about the wonderful intangible spirit that animates the College community; about what people can do with ingenuity and boundless energy, about hard work and exuberant enjoyment; and almost best of all, about the annual miracle of freshers’ Sunday and the magical absorption of freshers into Trevs – and of the Trevs spirit into the lives of the freshers.

I don’t know what the future holds, any more than anyone else – beyond my determination to spend as much of retirement as possible afloat in a sailing dinghy. But who knows? I’m writing this in the profoundly uncertain days leading up to the (latest) scheduled date for Britain to leave the European Union, and with the government’s report on the funding of higher education to be released shortly.

University life, and with it the life of colleges, may well not be the same in the coming years. Colleges are already far too big; there are far too few rooms in college for anyone but freshers. College communities are under pressure. But I do know what the future for our colleges depends on. It depends on the commitment, passion, imagination, courage, and resilience of all collegians – students and staff alike – in Trevs of course, and in colleges everywhere. And because of this, I am profoundly hopeful.

So, in parting: an equally profound thank you to Trevs, to colleagues, alumni, students, Trevelyanites all, for letting me join you for part of the journey along the Collegiate Way. I won’t forget a single step.

Professor H Martyn Evans Trevelyan College Principal

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Welcome from the Associate Principal

I’ll say a little more about the developing community later), we have had the longest serving - and in my view the most successful - College Officer team. I will say now that it has been a pleasure and an honour to have worked with Martyn during this time.

Having enjoyed the sultry highs of February weather this year, I’ve started writing this as I look out of my office window on the third day of April to saucers of snow falling on fully bloomed daffodils and a temperature of only four degrees Celsius: if there was ever proof needed that the UK’s weather is changeable and unpredictable, then it most assuredly exists right now.

Analogously, the last year in College and the University has been equally changeable and challenging in so many ways. Professor Martyn Evans, our Principal of the last ten years, took up the secondment of Chair of Colleges in March last year and has now taken on the role of Acting Pro-Vice Chancellor for Colleges and Wider Student Experience before his final move in September this year, when he will be retiring. Martyn has been the solid foundation of everything Trevelyan College stands for during his time as Principal and, whilst not all changes in the College have been under our control (and

Since March last year I have been Associate Principal, a mix of both Principal and VicePrincipal. Charlotte Imlach, who many of you may have had contact with, has moved to St Cuthbert’s on secondment as their Assistant Principal, so we have recruited two new members of staff, Dr Kim Schreck, our Senior Administrator, and Dr Rose Newman, our Student Development and Support Officer.

Part of Rose’s role is working with the Alumni community of the College.

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The College itself has had two years of a large undergraduate intake and that looks set to continue with around 240 freshers each year.

We maintain our Mentor system to help those students transition into university and start their challenging university career, and we will be reinvigorating the ConnHexions scheme

The ConnHexions scheme enables Alumni to support students in their developmental and career journey that enables Alumni to support students in their developmental and career journey.

The College is now 1,000-strong, with an ever increasing postgraduate community of which around fifty will be resident next academic year. Our postgraduates are a critical part of the resident community now, as numbers of undergraduate returners residing in College continue to decline. They have involved

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themselves in the academic support of students with the re-introduction of the academic grandparenting scheme and a number of scholarly events run by and supported by the Middle Common Room.

These range from research evenings where members of the MCR and SCR present their current research, to dissertation evenings where undergraduates present their initial ideas for their dissertation and then in

We’re so grateful to those Alumni that came to the careers weekend giving our current students lots of ideas and information about varying different career paths a later event, their final results, gaining feedback from both the MCR and SCR. The MCR were also a strong presence at the recent careers weekend that the College held. It proved very successful and we’re so grateful to those Alumni that came to the careers weekend and presented, giving our current students lots of ideas and information about varying different career paths that our Alumni have followed.

We also continue to support our friends at the Institute of Advanced Studies, providing accommodation and a community away from home for their Fellows, and have had some outstanding visitors in the last year.

Our Fellows contribute to the community by way of integration and presenting their work in public lectures. We will once again host the Luce Fellow in the Easter term and look forward to that.

It’s been a very successful year for extracurricular participation in both sports and music. We were once again treated to an excellent musical from the Trevelyan College Musical Society, How to Succeed in Business, with fantastic performances from

both freshers and senior undergraduates, backed up by a professional directing team, pit orchestra, and amazing technical crew. We also continue to support the University orchestras with a home for practice. The famous Trevelyan Unplugged continues to gather strength with lots of new talent performing on a regular basis.

In sport, as I write this, we have had eight promotions and league wins this year. The Men’s Rugby also reached the Floodlit Plate Competition final with outstanding performances, before finally succumbing to a very strong Castle team – next year!

Netball A and B, Men’s Squash, Men’s Badminton, Women’s Hockey, Men’s Football, and Mixed Lacrosse all topping their respective divisions. And to top all that success off, the College Cheerleading won the Intercollegiate Cheerleading Competition. Well done to everyone who has played, organised, and participated in some way, contributing to the success of Trevelyan College sport.

As we move forward into the oncoming summer we have a programme of improvements for the College, including door replacements, window refurbishment, and hopefully shared room decoupling and improvements to

In sport we have had eight promotions and league wins this year our disability accessibility – it promises to be a busy summer. At the same time, there are ongoing University reviews of staffing structures across the Colleges and Departments. Many of you may already have heard that the first of those, looking at operational staff in Colleges, is well underway and - depending on the consultation outcomes - may result

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in a very different set up, as Colleges may no longer have a Bursar. Following the completion of this, there are reviews of catering, domestic staff, and then student development and support staff, all with the aim of creating more consistent staffing structures, increasing effectiveness and efficiency, and ultimately improving the experience for our students.

As I write this, the second of our Fiftieth Anniversary projects, the Garden of Reflection, is nearing completion and is promising to be an outstanding space for quiet reflection. We are now moving on to the planning and funding resourcing of our third and final project, the Library extension. This is becoming more and more important as numbers of students increase and extra library and study space becomes increasingly needed.

I would just like to thank our Alumni for their very generous donations and gifts Before I sign off I would just like to thank our Alumni for their very generous donations and gifts. This has allowed the College to support students in ways we couldn’t have otherwise. A perfect example of this as we head into the Easter break is the student travel bursaries that allow us to financially assist students going on academic, personal development, and voluntary trips over the summer. Of course, I must say a huge thank you to those who have donated money towards the new Library - both our major gift donors and those that have pledged a recurrent donation. We hope to start planning the next Alumni event soon, so are looking at possibilities and venues with the help of some our Alumni – watch this space.

We will be welcoming a new Principal in the next academic year so, finally, the last word must be for our Principal, Professor Martyn Evans. This will be the last Hippocampus before his retirement, so on behalf of all the staff and our Alumni and friends, we wish him and his family every happiness in the world.

Best wishes, Dr Ian J Latham Associate Principal

I started at Trevelyan at the end of Michaelmas term, replacing Charlotte Imlach, who has moved on to St Cuthbert’s Society.

It has been a challenging yet rewarding few months, and it has been wonderful to get to know our current cohort of students as well as a number of alumni. I have had the pleasure of meeting some of you at the Epiphany Trevelyan Alumni Committee (TAC) Meeting, the careers weekend, and various other functions, and look forward to getting to know many more of you as the year goes on. Unfortunately we will not be able to hold a Summer Reunion this year due to essential building works going on in College, however we plan on hosting an entertainment-packed reunion in the summer of 2020 - made all the better by the additional planning time afforded to us by this hiatus. In the meantime, we hope to hold numerous get together across the next eighteen months, both in Durham and further afield. Keep an eye out for invitations, and be sure to update your contact details so that we can notify you of regional events nearby.

Dr Rose Newman Student Development and Support Officer

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MCR President’s Review 2018-19

With the daffodils blooming in Trevs and Epiphany term nearly at an end, it is time to reflect on the activity of the Middle Common Room over this past year. Soon we will be rounding off the term with a Mo Mowlam formal, where we will honour the namesake of our common room with a talk about her life, and the legacy of the Good Friday Agreements.

The academic year started off with a lively freshers’ week, in which new MCR members were matriculated into the University and the College community.

This year’s MCR is a wonderful mix of both new and returning members, and has seen wide engagement at the events that we host. The first event was the inter-MCR formal, where we hosted students from across all the Colleges. With a full dining hall and music performed by our associate members, it was a delightful evening of intercollegiate spirit.

Research buffets are a staple of the MCR, showcasing the diversity in research done by members of both our own common room and the Senior Common Room. It

This year’s MCR is a wonderful mix of both new and returning members is always a pleasure to attend, and so far there have been two. The research buffet in first term saw four MCR members present some of their work, from PhD thesis work on archaeology in the Fens to projects in increasing global access to medicine.

Our second research buffet had talks on Latin translation in Renaissance England

and funeral rituals in Yazd, Iran. We also had a talk by one of our SCR members, presenting on ancient monuments in modern Turkey.

Christmas time saw a great number of social events, including a hotpot Thanksgiving featuring turkey meatballs and other meats and vegetables in a Chinese soup-like fondue. The international community has been strong this year, and saw a Dutch-type Secret Santa, where both gifts and poems were exchanged. Lunar New Year was celebrated later in February, where much of the MCR helped cook food and performed dances and music.

All in all, it has been a fantastic year for our community! With warmer weather and dissertation deadlines soon approaching, it is a comfort to know that that time will be spent among the friends made in this all too short a year.

Darcy van Eerten MCR President 2018/19

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JCR President’s Review 2018-19

Cheerleading Competition placing first in the co-ed main stunt and girl stunt group. It has truly been inspiring to watch Trevelyanites so enthusiastic, passionate, and tireless in securing these incredible places for their teams. We are all looking forward to channelling all this energy in the upcoming Rounders, where Team Trevs traditionally dominates the competition with tremendous spirit!

Epiphany term passed with the usual whirlwind of events. As ever, the Trevs community surprised me with their enthusiasm for sport, music, charity, and event organisation despite the academic challenges of second term.

Based on the success of the Dissertation Open Mic Night back in October, this March we listened to six of our finalists presenting their fascinating projects. Similarly, the Undercroft Chats continued after its successful launching in November.

Team Trevs has made some remarkable achievements, with eight promotions and league wins for this season.

This includes league victories from Women’s Hockey, Mixed Lacrosse, Netball Bs, and A teams in Netball and Football. Moreover, our Cheerleading team has won the Intercollegiate

Team Trevs has made some remarkable achievements

The music in Trevs scene never disappoints.

Our musicians continued to deliver excellent performances at the Easter Concert and various Unplugged nights. The Musical Society put on an incredible show as usual with How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and we have seen new and old bands thrive both within College and gigs at several events across the University. It has truly been a pleasure to watch not only their talent but their enjoyment of and passion for music.

Epiphany term has been full of fantastic

Our musicians continued to deliver excellent performances events, from formals to Trevs Night, Lunar New Year, JCR dinners, and successful charity events. To the credit of the often challenging yet outstanding work many of our peers carried out, we were able to enjoy amazing nights together and even raise money for the Percy Hedley Foundation (Charity Ball), A Way Out (Pancake Day), Save the Children UK (Charity Dinner) and the Say it Loud Club (Charity Fashion Show).

Finally, I cannot finish this letter without acknowledging the changes occurring on a University level with the Operations

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Incoming JCR President 2019-20

Review. As you may have heard, there is a consultation process ongoing about proposals for structural changes to the way Colleges work. There has been a massive outcry from the student body to the perceived risks that this policy brings to students, staff, and Colleges altogether. Durham University is changing and we fear that it is the communities you knew and loved, the communities we are building, with all of the efforts behind the achievements listed above, that will suffer from these changes. I would like to thank those of you who wrote to me for showing your support, and encourage all of you to get in touch with current students and the JCR Exec if you wish to help us.

I am hopeful that my successor will do a fantastic job bring in the current JCR and alumni together in this effort.

Mary Karvalits JCR President 2018/19

Arriving at Trevs in the autumn of 2017, I can remember my first steps through the doors into the Cobbles. After finding my room, I remember stumbling into the bar with my father— the stumbling may well have been a positive omen of my year as a fresher. Fast forward a year and a week and, on the second Sunday night of freshers’ week 2018, I arrived for a quick catch up with a housemate.

Instead, the evening ended with me being asked if I would run to be JCR President.

At an Unplugged a month later, I arrived at my answer. I have found in Trevs a place to truly call home, as well as many friends who will hopefully last a lifetime. It seems logical for me to discuss the things I hope to achieve.

Firstly, as a JCR we have a reserve of money which one hopes we can find a use for in terms of student experience.

Secondly, the continuation of the outgoing Exec’s great work, and of Mary’s in particular. Lastly, I hope in October I can welcome a cohort of freshers in the same way that I was once welcomed. One thing that I hope stays the same, regardless of whether you graduated in the College’s inaugural years or will graduate in three years’ time, is that Trevs is a positive, welcoming community and the best college in Durham. I will equally extend the offer made by many of my predecessors for any alumni to return to visit us on Elvet Hill Road.

Giorgio Angeleri-Rand JCR President 2019/20

TCMS’s “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”

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Trevelyan Bar Review 2018-19

The current academic year has been rather successful for the bar. There has been a specific focus, following the national trends, of promoting better student drinking behaviour, under the mantra of ‘drink less, but drink better’. We have further pushed weekly special rotations, both in the spirits’ range and in the beer and cider fridges. We’ve even now introduced a permanent rotating guest draught beer, thanks to modifications in the cellar, enabling a wider range of products on tap. Introductions of new permanent products, such as pink gin, have taken off hugely with both JCR and MCR alike, and gluten-free beer has ensured variety is accessible to all. While looming concerns over the alcohol trade due to Brexit have raised prices throughout the country, effective communication and management have enabled profits to remain high. The resultant profits continue to go straight back into the student experience through the Special Projects fund, which recently supported the purchase of a video camera and stand to record social and academic events, such as Unpluggeds and dissertation open-mic nights.

The student experience is the core belief for the continuing run of the coffee bar.

Engagement remains high, with small communities of students coming together regularly to use the environment as both a working and relaxing space. While it has faced challenges, such as losing fresh cake as a result of the catering team’s increased workload, no current student would deny the importance of the coffee bar’s existence.

Trevs Bar is flourishing, and I have faith that it will continue to do so

Other aspects of the bar have also aimed to promote the wider student experience. A variety of new smaller events have taken place, including karaoke and stand up nights, to broaden the opportunity for student engagement with the environment. Regular events like the Sunday Night Quiz continue to thrive: the rate of play is so high that the jackpot reached a record value at one point! Behind the scenes, the tradition of new staff continues, with the current new team having gotten to grips with the job tremendously well. The next Sabbatical Bar Steward has also been elected: Sarah Taylor, a current third year law student and Vice Administrative Chair of the bar, who is currently in the process of finalising the Senior Server team for next year.

All things considered, Trevs Bar is flourishing and I have faith that it will continue to do so, no matter the hurdles that may occur in the coming months. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the excellent support from the College staff. For that, I would like to express my sincere gratitude, and hope for their continuing support for both myself and my successor in the coming months.

Alex Grover Bar Steward 2018/19

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This year has been a busy one for Trevelyan’s Charity Committee, as we have organised nine different events for a number of charities, both local and national. From a beloved classic of Trevs Day, ‘Super Couples’, to our third annual Charity Ball (in collaboration with the Social Committee), there has been a great participation from the College community to raise money and awareness for some incredible causes.

The small but dedicated committee has been integral in ensuring that our events have been successful, and have gone above and beyond with their enthusiasm, dedication and hard work.

October and November were both busy months, as we organised campaigns for Breast Cancer Awareness and Movember. We have also raised money for several local charities this year, including North of England Children’s Cancer Research and A Way Out, a charity helping vulnerable women in Stockton for which our very own Charity Officer from last year, Abi Johnson, has been volunteering. A personal highlight for me was our Charity Ball, which took place in January at Ramside Hall. We raised over £3,000 for a local charity, The Percy Hedley Foundation, which helps disabled people and their families in the North East. It was an incredible experience to engage with representatives from the charity who came to speak at the ball.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege as Charity Officer to lead such a fantastic committee this year and experience first-hand the generosity and enthusiasm of the Trevelyan community.

Louise Oldham Charity Officer 2018/19

Charities & Outreach College has been involved in running multiple outreach projects throughout the year, with students from Trevs participating in various volunteering projects throughout Durham. This venture began during Michaelmas term, continuing a previous project with St. Oswald’s school in Durham where a team of volunteers have led weekly sessions with a group of fifteen kids aged three to ten years old. In the lead up to Christmas, the volunteers taught them various Christmas carols, building up to an informal end-of-term concert that was performed for parents and teachers. This term, we have attempted to combine art and music, with the volunteers leading DIY instrument sessions in which the kids make various instruments from cardboard, straws, and paper plates. The goal was to compose a song using these instruments.

The activity was very well received, with many students taking their instruments home to finish and perfect.

Later in the term, we aim to begin a project with Newker Primary School in Chester-Le-Street to teach their students Ultimate Frisbee. This was prompted by the school’s interest in expanding the types of sport taught to their students. A team of six volunteers will host a full day activity session, teaching various skills and techniques essential to the game. We hope to end the term with a tournament between all the students. The response from both the schools and the volunteers has been extremely positive, with interest expressed on both fronts to continue the projects into the next calendar year and beyond.

Overleaf are some comments from the volunteers working at St. Oswald’s, describing their experiences, what they’ve enjoyed, and what they’ve learnt.

Abby Ellis Outreach Officer 2018/19

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Charities & Outreach

CLARICE LEE When I signed up for this project I was excited as I enjoy working with children and I like music and it was a meaningful way to spend my free time. I was also anxious, however, that I wouldn’t know how to interact with the kids because I am an international student and have never spent time with local children before; also, I tend to be very quiet and difficult to open up! Nevertheless, the anxious feelings disappeared when I saw how warm and welcoming the school was, and how much fun the children seemed to have no matter what we had in plan, from playing a musical Simon Says to instrument-crafting and Christmas carol-singing. I enjoyed every session with the kids; it has given me the opportunity to meet new faces in the local community, as well as gain volunteering experience and skills which may be helpful in the future. What I like best about the project is the endless happy energy bursting from the kids, which I think is contagious and makes me feel warm and happy too. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this lovely project.

APIRAMY JEYANAGAM I have been volunteering at St Oswald’s after school club since first term of this year and have so far found it really fun and a nice change to my normal university routine. It enables us to interact with people who aren’t our age and it’s often refreshing to engage with and entertain younger kids! I’ve most enjoyed teaching the kids songs and getting them more comfortable with musical concepts - to think it may spark an interest in later life is even better!

We have tried to give them hands-on activities with music to keep them interested, providing them with materials to make instruments out of (tambourines, rattles, etc.). Watching them combine their creative skills to make instruments that produce sound/music has been fulfilling and entertaining to say the least. I would definitely like to continue working there throughout my time at Durham.

FLORA DODD I decided to volunteer with Trevs Music Outreach as I think it is really important for children to experience music from an early age. I enjoy working with children, and would love to work for arts charities after graduation. Currently, little funding is being awarded to the arts, meaning fewer children have access to music lessons and musical experiences. Trevs Music Outreach gives local children the opportunity to engage with music, and also allows students to get involved with the local community. So far this year, we have organised Christmas carols with the children, and have made musical instruments; I have really enjoyed volunteering with Trevs Outreach and hope the project continues to go from strength to strength!

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TREVELYAN COLLEGE FASHION SHOW TCFS is an annual charity fashion show run by Trevelyan students to raise money for a chosen charity close to the College’s heart. The proceeds from this year’s show went to Say It Loud, a charity that provides support and advocacy for LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

Trevelyan Charity Fashion Show models

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Mentors

The mentoring system is a great way for College landing groups to bond and gives first-year students a chance to meet in a relaxed space, eat chocolate brownies, and share experiences. I just facilitate discussion and point people in the right direction.

I became a mentor back in 2009 (we were still called tutors then). I had just moved to a job in the Geography Department and was managing large-scale research projects - this meant that I was not going to have much to do with undergraduates as it had no teaching attached. A friend of mine was a tutor/mentor at Trevs and suggested that I might like to give it a go. I met Ian Latham for a chat and we soon discovered a mutual love of motorcycles, so that was that. Mentoring got me involved with colleges and if it wasn’t for Trevs I wouldn’t be in my current job (Vice-Principal at another college, St Cuthbert’s Society).

I enjoy spending time with students; hearing about what they have been doing, watching them develop as people over the years, and - of course - having a laugh.

Over the years, if I have had a bad day at work in my ‘day job’ I have often come to do my mentor hour and left with my faith in humanity and the world restored by my mentees. My mentees have taught me a lot over the years!

Mentoring systems have always varied from college to college, but in the last ten years at Trevs things have changed a lot. We are now ‘mentors’ rather than ‘tutors’, and our groups consist of just first-year students.

We also hold fortnightly meetings, rather than weekly ones. Despite the changes I still love being a Trevs mentor and have no plans to give it up yet!

Dr Jon Warren Trevelyan College Mentor

THE TREVELYAN MENTOR SYSTEM The Trevelyan mentor system has existed in some form or other since the College’s foundation in 1966. College ‘tutors’, both resident and non-resident, would meet twice weekly with their students in order to provide guidance. As one letter of appointment to a tutor in 1968 outlined, the duties of a College Tutor consisted of ‘taking a special interest in the welfare and general and academic progress of up to twenty students, but not teaching them’. We currently have thirteen mentors in Trevs, who meet with their groups in fortnightly ‘mentor hours’. Prior to 2017, mentee groups were randomly allocated. Now, however, mentee groups are based on first-year landings the hexagonal groups of six rooms so distinctive to the College.

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Mentors One of the hardest things about being a College Mentor (or College Tutor as we were known back in the day) is defining exactly what a mentor is and what their role is. Periodically the University has a little working party (an oxymoron if ever I heard one) and tries to define it. Last time they did this they came up with ‘critical friend’ which is a) creepy and b) sounds like someone you’d never, never want to go the pub with.

So, I suppose we’d better define it!

Friendship is definitely part of it. A fellow mentor of long standing once said to me that ‘you’re probably their first adult friend who wasn’t also a friend of their parents’, and there’s probably some truth in that.

For me it’s primarily about supporting your mentees (I hate this word, it sounds like toothpaste) as human beings first and scholars second. In doing this, we are of course part of the diverse and superb Trevs welfare system and quite right too.

Student mental health is quite rightly high on everyone’s agenda at the moment.

One of the buzz phrases doing the rounds at the University at the moment is ‘proactive well-being’, and it’s a concept I have a lot of time for. The welfare provision across the University is already good and is improving, but it is almost inevitably reactive. By the time a student engages with welfare, there’s already a problem. Viewing student welfare proactively is the other side of that coin, and it’s something the mentor system at Trevs has been providing for some time, but of course, we can do more. We now have a dedicated Student Support and Development Officer to be the focus of this effort and this is a most welcome development.

So why do we mentors do it? Simple answer: it’s incredibly rewarding. To get to spend time with intelligent, creative, committed young people as they make their first steps into Higher Education and their adult lives is a privilege – and it’s also enormously good fun. It’s rare to have a mentor hour where at some point laughter doesn’t fill the room.

Since 2017/18, mentors have been attached to frep groups rather than having a separate grouping. This has proved hugely successful in building attendances and engagement with the mentor system, and has also allowed freps to continue to be involved with the welfare of their groups: for me, my freps almost take on the role of assistant mentors and that’s very rewarding for all involved.

It also helps the mentors, particularly new ones, have a greater sense of involvement in the life of the JCR. I’ve been a mentor at Trevs for thirteen years and I have friends, great memories, and a deep sense of satisfaction as a result. No one else does mentoring quite like Trevs and it’s yet another aspect of the College we should all be very, very proud of.

Tim Fowler Trevelyan College Mentor

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Dr Ian Latham

CAREERS

Trevelyan Associate Principal Ian Latham gave an introductory talk about the careers of Trevelyan graduates.

Dr Jon Warren

Trevelyan Careers Weekend On Saturday 2 March 2019, seven Trevelyan alumni returned to College to talk to current students about their chosen career paths.

There was a great turnout from the student population and an impressive calibre of speakers, ranging from academics to Civil Servants.

Jon Warren, Social Scientist, Trevs mentor, and Vice-Principal of St Cuthbert’s Society, reflected on his life in teaching and education.

Angus Mathieson Angus graduated from Durham University in 2017, and is doing a physics PhD at the University of Cambridge. He provided insight into the application process and the career opportunities open to postgraduate students in the sciences and beyond.

Felicity McDowall Felicity is doing a PhD in Durham’s Archaeology Department. She talked about the realities of postgraduate research in the Humanities and the essentials of writing a successful funding application.

Rosie Dutt Rosie is a brand ambassador for the Times/ Sunday Times. Her talk covered her own extensive career in print and online media, and advice on careers in both academic and commercial publishing.

Laura Dorian Laura is a Senior Project Manager at the University careers centre, specialising in facilitating internships for our students and graduates, and co-author of the book Stand Out from the Crowd: Key Skills for Study, Work, and Life. Her talk focused on the need for experience and real-life skills in today’s job market.

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Kathryn Beeson Kat is a copywriter at digital financial company Atom Bank - an interesting and varied career path that she gave students a unique insight into.

Dr Brian Morley Dr Morley is a professional botanist, and was a visiting Trevelyan Fellow in 1983. He has been Director of South Australia’s three botanic gardens and herbarium for twenty years. His talk centred on the ‘need for a grand plan’ in today’s society.

31% of Trevelyanites graduating with an undergraduate degree in 2017 went on to full-time study.

Dr Julia Magill Trevelyan alumna Dr Magill received an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours list for her work as Cabinet Minister for Education and Skills in Cardiff.

Dr Magill’s talk focused on ‘portfolio careers’ – the increasingly popular alternative to traditional full-time employment. She contrasted working at senior levels in the NHS, the Senior Civil Service, academia and politics, as well as reflecting on latterly changing fields from health and social care policy to education and skills.

89% of Trevelyanites graduating with a taught postgraduate degree in 2017 went into either full- or part-time work.

Following Dr Magill’s talk, there was an informal networking session. This gave our students a great opportunity to chat informally with the speakers over wine and cheese.

If you would like to talk to Trevelyan students about your career please get in touch.

We run regular careers events, and always look forward to welcoming alumni back to College. For more information, or to volunteer, please contact trevelyan.development@durham.ac.uk

Post-Offer Visit Day reps, March 2019

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TREVELYAN TRAVEL BURSARIES Every year, the Trevelyan Travel Bursaries allow our students to travel the globe doing charitable, academic, and voluntary work. Here are just a few of their stories...

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EXPLORING IRELAND’S PREHISTORY Felcity McDowall Across the course of her doctoral research, Felicity McDowall has recorded seventy-four museum displays. She used her Trevelyan Trust Travel Bursary to extend her reach beyond mainland Britain, studying some intriguing finds from Irish prehistory.

Prehistory is an expansive time period, covering all human history from our evolutionary origins to the development of writing. During this period there were innumerable developments including different species of humans, language, artistic expression, agriculture, and new technologies. Yet, despite the importance of this period and the events it covers, it is not frequently represented in museums and when it is presented it is often given less display space than later historical time periods. Furthermore, prehistory is often misunderstood and misrepresented in the public sphere. Museums therefore play an essential role in presenting the complex narratives of this period in an engaging and representative manner.

Such displays, however, have not been formally assessed. For my PhD research in the Durham Archaeology Department I am undertaking a largescale assessment of the current state of British prehistory displays. For this review I am visiting as many displays as I can find and recording variables of the displays that impact on visitor engagement with the period. By recording the display variables at different types and sizes of museum I can start to identify trends and patterns in how prehistory is presented to the public. To date, I have recorded seventy-four displays within the British Isles. However, until July these museum visits had been restricted to mainland Britain. To see whether these trends extended further and to increase my data set I successfully applied for a Trevelyan Trust Travel Bursary to support my travel to the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin and the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, County Meath, as these sites display some of the key finds from Ireland’s intriguing prehistory.

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The National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland contains a wealth of Ireland’s prehistory displayed across three main galleries, The Prehistory of Ireland, Ór- Ireland’s Gold, and Kingship and Sacrifice, with certain ‘star’ objects from prehistory presented alongside material from later periods in The Treasury.

The majority of the prehistory is presented in The Prehistory of Ireland gallery, which presents the period chronologically from the Palaeolithic to the later Bronze Age (300,000-500 BC) along the sides of a large open-plan rectangular room. There is a reconstructed Neolithic chamber made from decorated stones recovered from destroyed passage tombs to give an impression of how they look in the landscape. In the centre of the Ór- Ireland’s Gold gallery there are several cases and segmented areas displaying prehistoric gold objects dating from 2200500 BC. The prehistoric gold in the museum is one of the largest collections in Western Europe presenting some impressive pieces, with some types of jewellery displayed unique to Ireland.

The National Museum of Ireland has several Iron Age bog bodies on display in the Kingship and Sacrifice gallery. These preserved human remains are very rare and the ability to see how they are interpreted and presented in a museum context was fantastic.

These individuals date from the early Iron Age (400-175 BC) and were naturally mummified due to their deposition in peat bogs. In most cases a lot of their soft tissue and even hair has been preserved. The opportunity to see first-hand how the museum faces the ethical challenges associated with displaying such

lifelike human remains in comparison to the de-fleshed bones normally presented in museum displays was very insightful. Each body is displayed in its own segmented area so visitors have the choice to go inside and view the remains or simply read a summary about the individual presented by the entrance to each area. Alongside the segmented areas there are some

The museum faces the ethical challenges associated with displaying such lifelike remains traditional display cases presenting Iron Age material in a similar style to the main prehistory gallery, surrounded by large landscape images to give a sense of place. There is a video about scientific research that has been carried out on the bodies and at the end of the gallery there is a reconstructed head based on one of the bog bodies. Each segmented area situates the remains in a long tall case in the centre so the individual can be viewed from different perspectives and there is a bench opposite, giving visitors the opportunity to sit in observance of the bodies. The area is quite dark and gives a sense

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of reverence to the space. This style of presentation is sensitive and respectful to the individuals on display, unlike some other displays of human remains where the remains are in plain sight and the individual is stripped of their agency.

interactive tactile elements including the opportunity to touch different types of fur used in clothing. At the back of the main room there is a diorama based around a reconstructed roundhut with accompanying domestic objects set

Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre sits in the middle of a rich prehistoric landscape encompassing over ninety prehistoric monuments, most famously the large Neolithic (4000-2500 BC) passage tombs of Newgrange, Dowth and Knowth. This site is internationally important and contains the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Europe. Such art is rare in tombs and very rarely seen in mainland Britain. The visitor centre is the entry point for visitors wanting to visit these monuments in the landscape and provides an introduction to and explanation of later prehistory in Ireland, so I was very interested to see how the sites were contextualised in the displays.

The visitor centre is composed of several circular rooms spiralling off from the main reception reflecting the tri-spiral design

This site is internationally important of one of the most famous pieces of megalithic art found inside the Newrange tomb. There are many references to the landscape within the centre, including tall logs used to separate the exhibition space from the main reception, numerous images of the sites presented along the walls and a tall upright stone marking the entrance to the exhibition. Inside the large exhibition area there are replicas of several key finds from the sites displayed alongside Neolithic tools, as well as reconstructions of clothing and materials.

There are numerous explanatory text panels, some with illustrations of Neolithic scenes and some explaining scientific techniques in archaeology. There are

against a painted landscape scene. There is also a life-size partial reconstruction of Knowth tomb 15 presented as if in the process of excavation and a lifesize reconstruction of how the large stones used in the construction of the monuments may have been moved.

The Monuments The opportunity to go and visit the Neolithic monuments in the landscape was amazing, as these monuments are some of the most famous prehistoric structures in the British Isles. In the Neolithic they were built to house the remains of the dead, but their ceremonial roles are often debated. Newgrange predates Stonehenge and is very intriguing as it has a unique ‘box-like’ structure built on the top of the entry passage, which is aligned with the Winter Solstice. During the Winter Solstice sunlight will enter through the ‘roof-box’ and penetrate to the back of the tomb, lighting up the art. At Newgrange it is possible to go inside the chamber tomb, where a guide provides a short talk about how the site was built and uses a torch to give a visual demonstration of how sunlight enters the chamber at the Winter Solstice. After the talk, visitors are given time to explore the surrounding barrows.

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THE MOTHER & CHILD ART FOUNDATION Emma Leighton Supported by Trevelyan’s SCR Bursary, second-year Geography student Emma Leighton travelled to Nepal to work with the Mother and Child Art Foundation - a non-profit organisation that focuses on the education, health, and employment of disadvantaged Nepalese women and children.

We began our month-long expedition in Kathmandu, where we were introduced to Nepalese culture by exploring multiple temples. These included Swayambhunath Temple, also known as the monkey temple, Patan Durbar Square, and Pashupatinath Temple where we witnessed a cremation.

The Hindu and Buddhist architecture amazed us with its intricacy and layers of meaning, with stories behind each temple or statue. Despite the earthquake damage, the temples were extremely impressive in their design and the atmosphere created by people worshipping.

After exploring Kathmandu, we began a two-week project at a local school in Salle Bhumu, a more rural region. We were greeted with flowers and Bindi from the children and their families. The first stage of our project was purchasing the materials to carry out the construction effort. We purchased tools, roofing, paint, cement, and bricks, as well as sports equipment and stationery for the children. This was done using the £1,000 that we raised per person, so we directly saw the benefit of the money raised.

Our construction aims were to paint a classroom and build as much of the three

We were greeted with flowers and Bindi from the children and their families

new classrooms as possible. We mixed cement, carried bricks, rendered, white washed, and painted during the first week.

Two out of the three rooms were complete by the end of our stay, with the outside finished and murals inside one classroom.

We felt of most use painting the murals, which included an alphabet wall, shapes, maps, flags, body parts, nursery rhymes and numbers, as these could be used as

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We also helped organise a sports day in which the children competed in a quiz, three-legged races, skipping races, and rounders games. As well as the sports day, we helped the children plant some flowers and taught them the importance of collecting litter to maintain their beautiful environment.

We spent some evenings learning to cook Nepalese food including momos, which are like dumplings, and dhal bat.

Nepalese families often have dhal bat twice a day. It is a refillable lentil dish including curried vegetables, potatoes, rice, a poppadum and sometimes a lesson plans and really brightened up the classrooms. We also taught the children some basic English phrases and taught the older children about British culture.

They particularly enjoyed singing ‘heads, shoulders, knees and toes’.

One of my favourite days was spent watching and learning Nepalese dances One of my favourite days was spent watching and learning Nepalese dances.

The natural sense of rhythm the children had when dancing was great to watch.

cinnamon yoghurt. Towards the end of our stay we had a village tour visiting the local monastery and houses. It was interesting to see the different way of life of Nepalese families with more home-grown produce. Most houses had their own goats and grew a variety of vegetables. We felt so welcomed by the community of Salle Bhumu and were treated extremely well by the children, teachers, and families. We were sad to leave by the end of the two weeks as the school really felt like our home – we’d even acquired our own dog!

The final leg of our trip was a trek consisting of a section of the Annapurna Circuit. We travelled by bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara and got stuck in a twelve-hour traffic jam

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as a result of a landslide. This highlighted a difference to us in Nepalese traffic management – it was chaos! The trek was truly stunning, with exciting terrain. We walked through rhododendron forests up hundreds of stairs to reach our peak elevation at Poon Hill (3210m). We began the trek in Nayapul and passed through Ghorepani, Gandaki, and Ghandruk. We trekked from our teahouse in Ghorepani

The trek was truly stunning, with exciting terrain for a sunrise view at Poon Hill and saw a panoramic view of the Annapurna range.

Our five-day trek was a great success leaving many of us wanting to organise another one.

Our final days were spent sightseeing in Pokhara and Kathmandu. We walked to the peace pagoda and took a boat out on Phewa Lake in Pokhara. In Kathmandu we explored the old town, seeing temples and buying souvenirs. The expedition was extremely rewarding - in our efforts to improve the facilities at the school, our engagement with the community, and in the friendships we gained as

a team. You could see the benefits of constructing the school in the recovery process following the 2015 earthquake. Our guides were extremely helpful in supporting the project from the construction at the school and throughout the trek. We really enjoyed our farewell meal of Nepalese cuisine and dancing, making a great end to an incredible trip.

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June of this summer saw the most exciting and insightful of experiences of my studies so far. The fortnight of fieldwork I conducted was based at Lajuma, a research centre based in the rural Soutpansberg mountain range, in northern South Africa. This experience was designed to integrate both biological and social methods of anthropological fieldwork, as well giving an opportunity to explore the challenges of conducting fieldwork.

STUDYING SAMANGO MONKEYS Kathryn Craik Kathryn Craik used her Southern Hemisphere Research Scholarship to travel to the Lajuma research centre in South Africa.

A number of the aims of the fieldwork converged with the aims of the Lajuma research station in which we were based. The research station, set up by Professor Russell Hill from Durham University, is responsible for the ongoing research in the area on humanwildlife conflict and behavioural ecology of predator and prey interactions. The aims of both the research station and our fieldwork included assessing the role of mountainous regions in biodiversity conservation through data collection of both primates and vegetation. Another aim was to research the behavioural ecology of predator-prey interactions, with prey including baboons, Samango monkeys, and vervet monkeys and predators such as leopards. A third aim was to evaluate the nature and extent of humanwildlife conflict with the environment.

As anthropologists, we are interested in making the unfamiliar, familiar In addition to these main objectives, the fieldwork also promised to further develop my skills as an anthropologist. This was the first formal fieldwork I had carried out, and it allowed me to learn more about the discipline in which I study and understand what it really means to be an anthropologist in the field.

The fieldwork was aiming to take me and my fellow students, as fairly inexperienced anthropologists, out of our comfort zones and

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situate us in an unfamiliar environment where we could appreciate the context in which our research was set. The experience promised to broaden our horizons and open our eyes to the idea that, as anthropologists, we are interested in making the unfamiliar familiar.

In order to understand and appreciate the aims of the fieldwork, I needed to understand the context of the research station itself. Lajuma is situated in a rural

Limpopo province has the highest level of poverty of any South African province, with almost 80% of the population living below the poverty line part of South Africa in the province of Limpopo. During the trip briefing, I was informed that Limpopo province has the highest level of poverty of any South African province, with almost 80% of the population living below the poverty line. Within Limpopo, Lajuma sits at the highest point of the Soutpansberg Mountains, up steep dirt tracks. The topography of the area did add some challenge as Lajuma is not a typical South African environment. Some would imagine flat grassland with more common safari animals, but my experiences at Lajuma were quite the opposite.

The research had two parts, a biological and social anthropological aspect, although they did overlap. The biological aspects of the research involved collecting various data relating to the primates and predators, as well as their habitat and food availability. The various primate data sets were collected throughout the trip and the results were pooled together at the end to add to the plethora of data that has been collected at Lajuma.

We collected data over eight days, comparing various factors such as visibility, canopy cover, and tree height against the amount of food taken by the Samango monkeys – food that we had placed in trees in different locations. This allowed us to evaluate the impact of tree height and habitat visibility on primates’ risk perceptions through measuring ‘giving-up densities’ of Samango monkeys. Every morning a food substrate was left at various heights in trees with differing levels of canopy cover and every afternoon the amount of food left over was counted. This was then compared with height, visibility, and vegetation and tree cover. Statistical analysis was then performed to test our hypotheses.

Before we carried out the experiment, we hypothesised that the Samango monkeys would forage more from higher feeding stations since terrestrial locations were risky for the arboreal primates. Additionally, we hypothesised that Samango monkeys would forage

more from stations with high visibility since low habitat visibility increases the chances of ambush by predators. The data did not support the hypotheses, however this is still useful for learning about primate behavioural ecology.

With a larger study in terms of duration and area the hypotheses may have

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been supported, but this fieldwork was still successful as it helped me to look critically at the methods used and ways to improve the experiment to make it more reliable and repeatable.

Another set of data was collected through continuous and interval sampling. We followed the Samango monkeys for an entire day from a distance of around two to five metres.

The behaviour, location, age, and sex of the primates were noted and again pooled together to add to the ever growing data from Lajuma on primate behavioural ecology. This was a deeply rewarding experience, as the Samango monkeys were semi-habituated. This meant that we could be close enough without the primates feeling threatened, but that they did not show much interest in us. As a result, we could carry out our research without influencing their behaviour to a great extent. To be so close to primates without interfering with them was very humbling; the likeness in their behaviour to humans in the way they ate and interacted was remarkable.

In order to situate the research and have an opportunity to carry out social anthropological fieldwork, I was required to undertake an array

of ethnographic activities. We were continually noting our experiences from the moment we landed in Johannesburg to when we arrived at the airport again to fly back to the UK. I was required to undertake an array of ethnographic activities, and we recorded our experiences from the moment we landed in Johannesburg to our arrival back at the airport to fly home. There were also some specific activities, which included conducting an ethnographic interview and keeping a fieldwork diary. This holistic view of the fieldwork allowed me to take a reflexive approach to what fieldwork really is and how the field is constructed.

One of the aims of the fieldwork was to understand the impact of human-wildlife conflict and how this affected the area.

During a hike through the area, one of the

We followed the Samango monkeys for an entire day from a distance of around two to ďŹ ve metres neighbouring farms was visible. Through a discussion with one of the managers at Lajuma, the extent to which the farm was persecuting the leopards and primates that roamed within the boundaries of the farm could quite explicitly be seen. I then understood more about how tensions between local farmers, the local government, and researchers affected the research and conservation of the wildlife in the area. In light of this, we visited a local school to give a talk and play educational games with the children to teach them the importance of conservation. By educating the next generation of farmers in the area, it was hoped that we could help not only understand but also contribute towards reducing the human-wildlife conflict.

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Another social aspect of the integrated fieldwork was a two-night homestay in a town called Indermark. This town was an economically growing area, although it did have very low literacy rates and high

It was physically and mentally demanding but also such a rewarding experience youth unemployment. This stay allowed me to appreciate the South African culture in which my research was set. We took part in a number of activities in a local childcare centre, as well as taking part in a session at the local orphanage centre.

Additionally, we also spent some time with a home-based care team, taking medication to patients with illnesses such as tuberculosis, diabetes, and HIV. This experience gave me insight into the demographics of an area that is still recovering post-apartheid, and allowed me to see the positive growth of the area through the vast number of small businesses. Although no formal data collection was performed here, hearing the stories of the local people and learning the local language was an experience that opened my eyes not just as an

anthropologist learning about another culture, but also as an individual with experiences that contrasted those of the young people living in Indermark.

As an anthropologist this helped my ethnographic skills, as I got to experience a culture so different to my own.

The trip has given me a hunger for further ďŹ eldwork and inspired my ambitions Overall, the fieldwork was challenging but extremely enjoyable. It was physically and mentally demanding but also such a rewarding experience that has only improved my studies and skills as an anthropologist. I have improved my experimental and observational skills, as well as my statistical analysis in the biological aspects, and I have become a more confident but humbled anthropologist in terms of social ethnographic writing. The trip itself has given me a hunger for further fieldwork and inspired my ambitions as an anthropologist.

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GLOBAL ACTION NEPAL Beatrice Phillips Beatrice Phillips, a third-year International Relations student, used her SCR Travel Bursary to travel to North-West Nepal. Here, she volunteered with charities Voluntary Service Overseas and Global Action Nepal.

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My volunteering took me to the NorthWest of Nepal, to a region called Surkhet.

There, I was placed to work with a partner organisation called Global Action Nepal. Global Action Nepal’s focus was a programme called Sisters for Sisters.

This programme was made to create a sustainable project which could ensure

A sustainable project which could ensure that marginalised adolescent girls remained in education that marginalised adolescent girls, called ‘Little Sisters’, remained in education.

Sisters for Sisters Education envisions that marginalised adolescent girls will transition from primary to secondary school, then become empowered to either secure a safe livelihood or continue their education. A significant aspect of this programme was that it employed young women called ‘Big Sisters’ from communities to monitor the success of selected girls. This meant that while ensuring girls in rural communities remained in education, the women also benefitted by receiving a small salary to assist in running the programme. My role was to help train the Big Sisters and Little Sisters in two main areas, English and general digital skills. I ran between seven and eight sessions a week on

basic areas of English language such as grammar and conversational skills, as well as sessions training both Big and Little Sisters to use laptops. This involved teaching them to use Word and PowerPoint. In all of the sessions there was an underlying theme of building the confidence of Little Sisters. As the programme specifically focuses on girls who are marginalised in some form from the community, the confidence of each Little Sister was generally quite low. I made sure to include activities such as team-building games and opportunities for public speaking in each session so that Little Sisters had the opportunity for confidence building.

As well as working with Global Action Nepal, I was also volunteering for Voluntary Service Overseas. Voluntary Service Overseas required me to complete a series of target goals in the communities I was placed in. I spent six weeks in a small village called Jarbuta where I focused on improving the literacy rates in the area, as well as boosting attendance rates for the local school. I ran several sessions a week in the local school focusing on skills that would be useful in all aspects of their lives, such as communication skills.

These sessions included many games to ensure that all the students enjoyed their time learning. Due to my proficiency with English, I also aided the English teachers of the school with their daily classes. In addition to working with the local school to improve attendance rates, I helped to build

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and stock a community library to encourage study outside of school. This library is free of charge for anyone in the community to use.

Continuing my work with Voluntary Service Overseas, I moved to a community called Ramghat. In Ramghat, we focused on educating the community on the WASH project which centralises on water, sanitation, and health. Working closely with the local school, I led daily sessions. Topics for these sessions varied widely but included monsoon-related illnesses, importance of

I helped to build and stock a community library clean water, basic hygiene, menstruation, and sexual reproductive health. The sessions were taught to all ages of children, ensuring that all benefitted equally from the charity.

My time spent volunteering in Nepal taught me a huge amount of new skills. Spending time in a new culture, with a different language, and working with a translator taught me valuable communication skills which I hope to apply to a future career in International Development. The set-up of the volunteering programme meant I had a huge amount of independence to tailor my sessions to the needs of the communities.

Being responsible for determining the sessions given to the community required me to research the needs of the community I was placed in. Learning to conduct

research in such a fashion is crucial knowledge that I will hopefully use later in life. Another key benefit that I received from my time volunteering in Nepal was improved confidence.

Being responsible for so much and successfully leading a volunteering team has given me confidence that

Successfully leading a volunteering team has given me conďŹ dence I know I would not be able to receive from any other experience.

The SCR Travel Bursary allowed me to fully enjoy my volunteering experience in Nepal with Voluntary Service Overseas.

Thanks to this fund, I was able to not only experience a completely new culture, but I was able to help several communities and contribute to many families’ livelihoods.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Trevelyan alumni have achieved some great things since graduating. Here are just a few of their stories...

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Alumni

I distinctly remember the day I arrived at Trevs as a fresher, several years ago. My father had hurt his foot and had some difficulty walking, and as we walked up to the front doors we joked that we hoped I was in a room close to the front door.

I was in H3, AKA the Highest Room in the Tallest Tower. I needn’t have worried. Shortly after I’d signed in an army of helpful volunteers in pale blue polo shirts descended to help carry my belongings up to my room. And so began three short years of learning. Academia.

Friendship. How to cook on a nonexistent student budget.

WHY I GROW MY OWN Bryony Steward is an accountant in a multinational company by day - but her hobby is gardening.

She keeps two allotments and is passionate about self-sufficiency and sustainability. Bryony runs a popular ‘Grow Your Own’ Instagram account and writes an accompanying blog.

Follow Bryony on Instagram at @bryony_willis

Fast forward to three years later and in my final term, amongst the stress of dissertations and exams, I bought a packet of tomato seedlings in one of my many forays into Wilkos, treasure trove of student purchases. I couldn’t tell you now what made me pick it up. I’d never grown anything before that moment. Perhaps it was curiosity. How can something you can eat come out of such a tiny packet? I read the instructions on the back of the pack and cluelessly sowed the whole lot in a little tray on my windowsill.

You may not know, as I certainly didn’t then, that the average packet contains seventy-five tomato seeds. The resulting tomato forest on my windowsill was the subject of much amusement from my housemates. That term drew to a close all too quickly, and before I knew it I was packing and saying my final goodbyes. My longsuffering father drove all the way back ‘up north’ to transport me

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and the many possessions I had somehow accumulated after three years of student living home. Of course there were far too many things. I still remember the look on my beleaguered father’s face when I held up the tray of tomato plants as we were loading the car. “You’ll have to hold those on your lap!” So I held them on my lap, the entire five hour journey home.

I planted those tomatoes out in my parents’ garden and watered them obsessively that whole summer, fascinated by the way that something so small as a seed could grow into such a huge plant. It made FOOD. The ‘Grow Your Own’ bug had well and truly bitten me, and over the next five years my new hobby grew every time I did. I grew herbs on windowsills in rented flats. I bought my first house in 2014. It had a garden. In a flurry of excitement I bought ALL the seeds.

Too many seeds for them all to fit in the garden. So I got an allotment.

Since then I have learned many valuable things I wish I had known much earlier, and so I thought I would share these with you here today.

Why Grow Your Own? Physical wellbeing: Keeping an allotment necessitates a lot of fresh air and exercise. It’s good for your health, you get your daily dose of vitamin D, and it’s cheaper than the gym.

Mental wellbeing: There is a growing body of evidence which suggests that gardening is excellent for preventing and alleviating mental ill-health. It’s hard to quantify why, but I personally think this has something to do with…

Connection with nature: Keeping an allotment allows you to experience your surroundings in all seasons, and to watch and appreciate the wildlife around you. There is probably more than you think. This year I have installed a mini wildlife pond on my allotment and I have plans to create a hedgehog home and bee hotel. I’ve planted flowers especially to attract pollinators. I’ve become so much more aware of the impact of human action on climate and the environment and I feel this is something we should all have an appreciation of and take action on.

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pumpkins are orange? Wrong. You can get both in all the colours of the rainbow. They also taste so much better homegrown. The first time you eat a homegrown carrot it’s a revelation. They taste so CARROTY. Food with the proper range of variety and depth of flavour is a pure joy.

Social connection: Keeping an allotment throws you into the company of people whose likely only connection is your shared hobby. In my experience, this enormous range of personal experiences, backgrounds and ages is a fantastic and valuable melting pot of knowledge. To my great surprise, I also found a vibrant and very active online Grow Your Own community and I now have friends across the world who like to grow things as much as I do, and who inspire and entertain me daily.

Sense of achievement: There is nothing quite like succeeding in growing something for the first time. I’ve lost count of the useful new knowledge and skills I’ve gained in pursuit of my hobby (constructing my own raised beds and A-frames?? Who let me loose with a drill??) and at the end of the day it is so satisfying to think, I made that myself. I did that myself. I grew that myself.

Variety and choice: Vegetables come in so many more shapes and colours than the supermarkets say they do.

Think tomatoes are red? Wrong. Think

To sum up, my allotment provides me with organic and pesticide-free food. Fresh, local, seasonal, produce - without harming the environment, my health, or my pocket. It also keeps me fit and active, connected with the world in ways I never imagined, and is the little patch of land that I go to for solace if ever things don’t go to plan. That little packet of tomato seeds I picked up all those years ago in Durham has a lot to answer for! I strongly encourage you to have a go at growing something this year, even if it’s just on a windowsill. You might be surprised where it takes you.

Bryony Steward (née Willis) Trevelyan College 2008-2011

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Alumni

ULTIMATE FRISBEE:

FROM TREVS TO TEAM GB When starting university, students are universally encouraged to try something different and take advantage of new opportunities.

Acting on that advice, in my freshers’ week at Trevs in 2015 I attended a taster session for Ultimate Frisbee. I had never heard of Ultimate and had no idea what to expect. Three and a half years on, I have been selected for the Team GB U24 Women’s Team heading to the World Championships in Heidelberg, Germany in July. It’s been a rollercoaster of learning and competing from that first session until now, but I will always be grateful to my first team and the people who first taught me how to play!

Ultimate is often viewed as a ‘niche’ sport – to many, frisbees are for throwing to dogs more than humans! - but it is gradually getting the recognition it deserves. Most

universities have a team; there are regional, national and international championships for Men’s, Women’s and Mixed on grass and beach, and it has been recognised by the International Olympic Committee so is eligible for the 2024 Olympics. The disc (‘Frisbee’ is a trademark term) is thrown between players and caught in the endzone to score; if it is dropped, blocked, or caught out-of-bounds, then possession switches to the opposing team. Along with equestrian and tennis, it is one of only a handful of sports to compete mixed-gender. Moreover, it is unique in that it has no referees or umpires.

Instead, Ultimate relies on ‘spirit of the game’ – mutual respect and sportsmanship – through which players call and discuss infractions.

My first Frisbee session on the Trevs back lawn sparked my passion for the game. I played for Trevs A, which I captained in my second year, and began competing for DUF (the University team), which I captained in my third year. I also played for North-East team SMOG, with whom I qualified for the Club World Championships in 2017. When disaster struck and I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), forcing me to take a year out for knee surgery and rehab, my Trevs friends and teammates supported me, and Trevs offered financial support for taxis to help me to lectures when I was on crutches and Durham was covered in snow!

I knew several older DUF players who had represented GB in the 2015 and 2017 U24 World Championships, and I cannot deny it was my goal from my first year to do the same. Trials for the Mixed and Women’s U24 teams were on consecutive wet and windy weekends in December, and just before Christmas I heard that both myself and current Trevs student Lizzie Plasom-Scott had been selected for the 2019 Women’s squad. Both of us are still in shock but more excited than words can describe. We’re following fitness, throwing, and nutrition regimes, training once a month with the GB squad, competing at warm-up tournaments in Italy and Ireland, and then travelling to Germany in July. Wish us luck!

Kat Rowland Trevelyan College 2015-18

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Alumni

He had always grown plants. With grandfathers and a father who were keen gardeners what else could be expected? Ornithology came a close second in his world although music and literature were an overarching influence. In secondary school he excelled in English literature, biology, geography, chemistry and these last three subjects he studied in the Sixth Form. By this time he had become involved in survey work for the Flora of Warwickshire which was being compiled through Birmingham University. A public lecture on botany for schools by Professor David Catcheside was for some reason inspirational.

In the early 1960s plant science at the then University College of North Wales, Bangor was particularly strong. Professor Paul Richards, the pioneer tropical plant ecologist was head of the Botany Department, while Professor John Harper, the plant population ecologist, was head of Agricultural Botany. Each had a fine team of lecturers. It was to Bangor that he went.

PLANTSMAN Dr Brian Morley’s love of botany has taken him around the world...

While at Bangor he twice did vacation survey work with the Nature Conservancy in South Wales as well as making botanical trips to the Basses Alps in France and Ben Lawers in Scotland. He also worked in the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Herbarium of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington as a Cadet.

By this time he had acquired a good working knowledge of the British flora but, through his garden experiences, had already felt a need to expand his understanding of plants in different parts of the world.

Through Professor Richards a postgraduate opportunity arose to study a group of endemic epiphytic tropical plants pollinated by humming birds in Jamaica. Working with Dr William Stearn and his supervisor Dr Dennis Adams he found that not only did the species require taxonomic revision, but he discovered extensive natural hybridisation between two of the species. He collected and cultivated all of the species at the University of the West Indies, Mona and then air freighted them to the botanic gardens at Kew and Edinburgh for further study. In the Jodrell Laboratory at Kew, where he was supervised by Dr Keith Jones, he made cytological study of the chromosomes and in the glasshouses resynthesised the hybrids that

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he had found in the wild.

He wrote up his thesis in the Jodrell Laboratory thanks to the courtesy of the Keeper, Dr Charles Metcalf, and simultaneously began work on writing Wild Flowers of the World for Rainbird Reference Books in conjunction with the botanical artist Barbara Everard. The work involved devising the text while supplying the artist with living and dried plant specimens from Kew, the RHS at Wisley and Natural History Museum. Dr Stearn and Dr Peter Green from Kew were consultative editors of the book which became a success, remained in print for more than 20 years, and won two RHS Gold Medals for the artist. The Director of Kew, Sir George Taylor, wrote the Foreword to the book.

While working at Kew on the book, he became aware of a position at the National Botanic Garden, Glasnevin, in Dublin through Professor David Webb of the Botany School at Trinity College. He had been shortlisted for a lectureship at Oxford University, but was unsuccessful.

He had turned down a university post in Winnipeg and decided not to apply for a post in Addis Ababa as head of the university herbarium. He was appointed in 1969 as Horticultural Botanist at Glasnevin where he was responsible for the foreign herbarium, the library and naming of all living plant collections. In 1973 he was botanist on the Scientific Exploration Society expedition to Nanny Town in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, an area hitherto unstudied and of national significance to the island nation. In 1974 he met Mr Noel Lothian, a visitor to Glasnevin and Director of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens in South Australia, and who offered him a position there.

Deciding to accept this offer he migrated to Australia with his family in 1975.

Appointed as Horticultural Botanist, he became Assistant Director in 1978 and Director on Lothian’s retirement in 1980.

With four gardens, the State Herbarium, and Government House Grounds to administer there was a staff of 120.

In 1983 he published Wild Flowers in Australia, coedited with Dr H. Toelken, with contributions from many local and overseas botanists and botanical illustrations by Ronald Adams, June Morley and Ludvik Dutkiewicz.

His schoolboy inspiration, Dr Catcheside, having retired from Canberra, lived in Adelaide. Between 1983 and 1993 he was Honorary Secretary General of the International Association of Botanic Gardens and helped set up and coordinate regional branches in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Eastern Asia and Australasia. During his administration he refurbished the architecturally important Palm House, reopened the Museum of Economic Botany, had built the award-winning Bicentennial Conservatory and promoted the organisation as a scientific, educational and cultural heritage asset as well as recreational one. His mentor, Dr Stearn, came to lecture in Adelaide, but unfortunately they did not meet as he was at that time Visiting Trevelyan Fellow. He retired in 2000.

With his late wife in 2001 he established and revegetated Woolford Hill, a fiftyacre degraded sheep property in the Rhine Hills on the fringe of the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Using seed from local indigenous species the landscape has now been replanted back to grassy woodland, one of the most threatened ecosystems in the State. He also published his landmark work on the importance of plants in the writings of the French author Marcel Proust in 2012.

Currently, he breeds new old fashioned roses in South Australia and has, with his wife, gardens in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and the island of Pico in the Azores.

Dr Brian Morley Visiting Trevelyan Fellow 1983

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Alumni

THE APPETITE DOCTOR Trevelyan alumna Dr Helen McCarthy on how a career in Clinical Psychology inspired her to create a diet book with a difference...

I knew I was going to love studying Experimental Psychology from the moment I stumbled across the description of what it was in a university prospectus. I hadn’t previously had a clue what psychology involved as it wasn’t an A Level (or O Level) option in those days. I began my degree at Trevelyan in 1978 and, sure enough, absolutely loved the course. By the time I graduated all I knew was that I didn’t want to stop studying the subject, so applied for doctorates and was offered a place to do a D.Phil. at Oxford with a linked studentship, where the link was between the Department of Experimental Psychology and the Warneford Psychiatric Hospital.

My supervisors both nurtured my interest in clinically relevant research, and my thesis title ended up as ‘Anorexia Nervosa and the Family: A comparison of patients and their siblings’. My time carrying out the studies at the Warneford Hospital’s adolescent unit showed me that, rather than continuing with academic psychology, I wanted to train as a Clinical Psychologist. I moved to London where I joined the South-East Thames Clinical Psychology Training Scheme, a three-year in-service training scheme in which two days a week were spent on academic teaching and three days on a six-month clinical placement. We rotated around different specialties, where I found I was most interested in Adult Mental Health.

When I finally qualified in 1989 my first NHS job was in the Clinical Psychology department of Oxleas NHS Trust in South East London, where I developed particular interests in the treatment of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and psychological trauma. There are new developments in treatment in Clinical Psychology all the time, and at Oxleas I was learning continually. The thing about clinical work – seeing an individual to help them overcome the psychological effects of a traumatic event, or recover from anxiety or an eating disorder – is that what comes to matter to you is finding things that actually help the person. You become a real pragmatist. Sitting in a room with someone in terrible distress

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makes you want to do something which will actually make a difference to them. What has always made Clinical Psychology more than a routine job for me is that this involves so much creativity and intellectual challenge.

Hearing a unique person’s story and applying whatever understanding and techniques are likely to help the person becomes a joint exploration between me and them, and I often learn something new.

I decided to apply all my clinical training and experience to work out how to lose weight without the deprivation and stress of dieting and used myself as my first guinea pig.

After the birth of our first child in 1996, my husband and I decided to move to South Wales where I tried combining NHS work with looking after our daughter. I found I was doing neither terribly well, so stopped working for a few years and returned to working (this time to private practice) when my younger child started nursery.

I kept my focus on the principles of evolutionary psychology and biology

Fast forward to the summer of 2011, when I received a referral from the GP of a fortyyear-old woman who was suffering with bulimia nervosa. Megan’s bulimia had been triggered by following a Very Low Calorie meal replacement programme in an attempt to lose weight. Megan made extremely good progress using cognitive behavioural therapy, and she returned to eating normally. Megan was relieved and delighted to have made such a positive recovery and thanked me

I decided to apply all my clinical training and experience to work out how to lose weight without the deprevation and stress of dieting as she left the room. On her way out of the door she turned and said, “I just wish I could lose another stone in weight”. I was stunned.

I had been able, as a Clinical Psychologist, to help Megan overcome a serious eating disorder, but I had no idea how to help her simply lose a stone. Not least because I was a stone and a half above where I wanted to be, and my own (albeit half-hearted) attempts to lose weight hadn’t got very far.

It was a long road of trial and plenty of error, but I kept my focus on the principles of evolutionary psychology and biology

so that whatever I developed would work with, not against, our ancient psychology and biology. Gradually, an approach emerged. I called it ‘Appetite Retraining’, because that’s just what it turned out to be. It combines an understanding of why it is so hard to lose weight with techniques which allow you to work around this to achieve success. You re-learn how to use your body’s natural hunger and fullness signals to guide your eating, and you do this one manageable step at a time.

Because the focus is on habit change, there is no diet to come off and your weight loss is permanent.

What this has done for me (as well as losing one and a half stone and then easily keeping it off) is that it has given my career a whole new boost of interest and enthusiasm. I’ve just had my first book published, How to Retrain Your Appetite, and am giving talks in cafes and restaurants, usually over a delicious meal!

I’ve discovered how many people really struggle with their eating even though they don’t have an eating disorder. I’ve taught lots of clients the approach and many of them have loved its gentleness and the fact they don’t have to give up any of their favourite foods.

Dr Helen McCarthy Trevelyan College 1978-81

46 The Atacama Desert

Alumni

FROM THE ATACAMA DESERT TO EASTER ISLAND Barbara McKenzie’s travels have taken her to many exotic places, including the Chilean Atacama, one of the driest places on earth, and Easter Island, one of the most remote inhabited islands.

I don’t know where half a century has gone since I left Trevelyan! It always seems somewhat surreal to return and see how much has changed, not least the presence of men and a capacious College bar! So different from fifty years ago when essays were hand written, telephone rotas were agenda items at JCR meetings, and the night porter would patrol College to ‘evict’ lingering male guests!

So much has changed since seventy-nine teenage girls entered the building site that was to become our Alma Mater, Trevelyan College, but the timelessness of Durham continues to make it a pleasure to return. I am sure it has that effect on many of us, even though we may have travelled far and wide since graduating.

Reading Geography might still be to blame for my wanderlust, but fifty years later I still haven’t exhausted my bucket list!

Last November saw husband Michael (a Hatfield geographer) and I in the driest place on earth, the Chilean Atacama, on the perfectly symmetrical thirty degree slopes of the iconic strato volcano Licancabur. At 5,920 metres it is one of the ten most photogenic volcanoes in the world, surrounded by dazzling white salt flats, flamingo-filled lagoons, and vicuna roaming the surrounding altiplano. Within its crater it also contains the world’s highest lake at 5,913m. The air is thin, the scenery dazzling,

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and the sky an unbelievable azure blue. Long may it remain remote and unspoiled.

From the driest place on earth we travelled 4,000km west from Santiago to what is described as the most remote inhabited island in the world. Again, it belongs to Chile. With an area of only sixty square miles, Easter Island is the top of a volcanic massif rising 3,000 metres from the Pacific Ocean floor, its three dominant volcanoes giving it a trapezoid shape. Situated at the eastern corner of the Polynesian triangle (which extends thousands of miles north to Hawaii and west to New Zealand), it is a mystery how King Hotu Matu’a navigated his outrigger canoes, against the wind, over 5,000km from the Marquesas Islands to reach Rapa Nui (Easter Island’s native name). So remote one might anticipate that Rapa Nui’s Polynesian culture, with its iconic Moai and luxurious subtropical ecosystem, would have survived unscathed against the ‘threats’ of colonialism, slavery, disease and ecocide which have impacted other indigenous communities.

The air is thin, the scenery dazzling, and the sky an unbelievable azure blue Sadly, even on the stunningly beautiful Anakena beach where Hotu Matu’a made landfall, the South Pacific Gyre is now speckling the white sand with turquoise microplastic. But 1,000 years or so ago a complex, highly stratified, society was evolving, organised into ten mata (or clans). Each mata had a strip of land extending inland from the coast which is where the elite lived in thatched, boat-shaped houses. This is where the ceremonial

centres predominate, with their Moai, (stone statues), built on extensive stone platforms (ahu) – the latter devoid of mortar and in some ahu the stones are so tightly fitted that an Inca link has been suggested. Inland, the poorer people adapted to their volcanic environment by building stone water channels and

In 1774 Captain Cook recorded “stupendous stone statues erected in different places along the coast” creating sunken gardens in lava tubes to grow taro, grapes, sweet potatoes, etc.

In 1774 Captain Cook recorded “stupendous stone statues erected in different places along the coast”, but he was as unsure as Jacob Roggeveen, the first European to make contact with the Rapa Nui on Easter Day 1722, as to their purpose – except perhaps “to instil fear into the invaders”. But whereas Roggeveen noted “palm forests, lush gardens, sea birds, turtles and a wellnourished people”, Cook records that water was scarce and, though friendly, the people had little to trade so Cook soon moved on. So, was the Rapa Nui culture already in distress? With no written recorded history, Rapa Nui oral tradition is increasingly now being corroborated by scientific research, and tells a fascinating story of crisis and survival.

The Moai, carvings of important ancestors, face inland, perhaps to channel the ‘mana’ (life force) of those past chiefs towards their clan to help them prosper and to provide a spiritual focus for them. The Moai were all carved in situ in the quarry at Rano Raraku, suggesting collaboration between the clans in order to create these massive carvings which became more and more sophisticated over the years

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- possibly as tribes tried to outdo each other? Made of volcanic tuff, chiselled only with basalt or obsidian tools, to which red scoria ‘hats’ carved at a different quarry were added, the Moai are both mysterious and fascinating.

El Gigante can still be seen, unfinished, 21m long and weighing 270 tons. Others have only their heads exposed, two thirds remaining buried in the ground.

But how were other Moai moved across the island, without the wheel or metal tools? Archaeologists initially believed that rolling the statues on palm trees would also explain why deforestation occurred on Rapa Nui - but that could be equally attributable to slash and burn to clear farm land or to the unintentionally introduced rats that, without a top predator, ate all the palm nuts and seeds of the original native tree species.

Theories abound to explain deforestation, soil exhaustion, and decreased yields which may have led to overfishing and then destruction of the seabird population

The Moai are both mysterious and fascinating

as a source of food, all contributing to cultural collapse - and maybe the collapse of the Moai themselves? As regards the mechanism for transporting the latter, archaeologists are finally investigating the Rapa Nui oral tradition that they were ‘walked’ into position -

Did unsustainable population growth cause ecocide, warfare perhaps between the clans and eventual cultural collapse? ropes being tied around the initially very angular eye sockets to facilitate this and then upon reaching the ahu, the statue was tilted backwards, the body reshaped to shift its centre of gravity upwards and the eye socket sculpting completed before the coral eye with its obsidian pupil was inserted. Only then was the Moai pulled upright into its final position. The grandmother of our Rapa Nui guide still ‘owned’ an obsidian pupil!

So why did later visitors report that the Moai had been toppled? Did unsustainable population growth cause ecocide, warfare perhaps between

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the clans and eventual cultural collapse?

Were the Moai toppled to avoid them ‘seeing’ what was happening? We know 1,400 healthy islanders were taken as slaves for the Peruvian guano industry in 1862, but only twelve returned, many with smallpox. French missionaries arriving at the same time ended the Birdman culture by

A microcosm of what can happen to an apparently highly-organised indigenous community, despite its remote utopian location syncretising Christian and Polynesian beliefs, but appropriation of land to try rearing 70,000 merino sheep further compromised the environment. Eventually Rapa Nui was annexed by Chile in 1888.

So much remains controversial about this fascinating place - Rapa Nui, a microcosm of what can happen to an apparently highlyorganised indigenous community, despite its remote utopian location. Today, the 2,500 native Rapa Nui descendants of a population that totalled only 110 in 1877 is focussed on creating a future that is an example to us all. The catalyst was fifty years ago (as I left Trevelyan!), when archaeologist Dr Molloy started to erect some of the toppled Moai, and in so doing began to restore mana to the Rapa Nui. Now they are not only regaining their heritage and cultural traditions through their own parliament, but are even challenging the Chilean Government to return their ‘clan land’ by placing pirate flags outside the most

Perhaps the remotest inhabited island in the world is setting an example of what can be achieved when the ‘mana’ is right

prestigious Chilean-owned hotel on the Island. Rapa Nui protagonists like Mama Piru, who died recently, have won the backing of UNESCO in fighting for the repatriation of Moai and Rapanui pieces to the island. The first skulls have already been returned from New Zealand and two rare basalt Moai, collected in 1869 by HMS Topaze, have been requested from the British Museum.

Just as remoteness did not enable the Rapa Nui to escape the vicissitudes of history, neither can it protect them from the impact of current global issues. In addition to restoring their Polynesian Heritage, the strictly controlled National Park is benefitting tourism and keeping young people on the island. And with plans to develop energy autonomy by burning all their plastic waste, plus ensuring the sustainability of their fragile environment, perhaps the remotest inhabited island in the world is setting an example of what can be achieved when the ‘mana’ is right.

Barbara McKenzie (née Mills) Trevelyan College 1966-69

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Alumni

A GLOBAL COMMUNITY Since leaving Durham University in 2007 I've been very fortunate to travel the world as part of my career, and in November 2017 I travelled to Sydney for an international conference hosted by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). Such was my itinerary that I had some free time on an evening before the conference began, and since I didn't know anyone in the southern hemisphere, let alone in Sydney, I asked the College if a Sydney-based reunion was possible.

Thomas Barber, the College Alumni Officer at the time, and Mellissa Abdu in the central alumni team did an excellent job along in sourcing a harbour-side venue and a local alumni guest list. On the night itself, eleven Durham University alumni (four of whom were from Trevs)

met at Helm Bar in Darling Harbour.

The alumni there had graduated across decades, and some were at Trevs when it was still all female. It was fascinating to hear about how their lives had led them to Sydney either immediately after Durham or because of jobs, family, and even love!

My day job at the moment is Careers Manager at the University of Manchester and so I am naturally interested to hear about what people do for a living and how they got there. What was evident was that all the alumni still had a fondness for Durham in their hearts and many easily recalled memories from their times there. Whether back in England or on the other side of the world, their sense of belonging to the University was very much evident even many years after graduation.

Those alumni who didn't go to Trevs still commented on the hexagon architecture and what was, in their words, one of the better bars. I did attempt a sing-a-long of the football clubs chant with a ‘T and an R, and an E, V, E’ but I think this was perhaps too recent of an addition for the alumni to join in, and so I just retreated into my scooner (an Australian threequarter pint) and let the rest of the night unfold.

If any readers are travelling internationally then I would strongly recommend contact the College to see if a reunion is possible in the city you are visiting. It's a great way to meet new people and find out about non-tourists spots to visit.

To enquire about a reunion in your hometown or a city you are visiting, please contact trevelyan.development@durham.ac.uk

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Alumni

Tomo Bystedt (third left) with Tiger Woods

GOLFING AROUND THE GLOBE I graduated with a Master of Engineering degree in 1997 and, not being sure of a career path, moved to Tokyo to work in IT. I spent over six years at Nokia and Morgan Stanley in various roles hoping to find one I was passionate about.

Thanks to a chance encounter with an industry executive at a golf tournament, I found the opening I was looking for – a job in the golf industry. I now had the opportunity to pursue a career in a sport I had been passionate about since I was twelve years old.

The job was an entry level marketing job at one of the leading golf equipment companies, Acushnet, based in Tokyo. Even though I took a nearly 50% pay cut to work there, it was a dream come true for me. Two short years after landing a job in the golf business, I had an opportunity to work for one of my all-time favourite brands, TaylorMade, at their office in Melbourne, Australia. I was offered a more senior role as Head of Product and Marketing for the Australian business. Not knowing much about the company or the Australian market, I moved there with my family in 2006 ready for a new challenge.

A couple of years later, TaylorMade promoted me internally to a job overseeing Product Marketing for the Asia-Pacific Region based out of Hong Kong. I worked there for five years traveling throughout the region, including Korea,

China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and India. Seeing and working in so many diverse countries was a great learning experience and something that will always look back on as a highlight of my career.

In 2013, I eventually had the opportunity to move from marketing our TaylorMade products into the role of creating the products, at our company headquarters in Carlsbad, California. I jumped at the chance to move to the US and was assigned to head up our Irons, Wedge, and Putter categories. Four years later, I was promoted to head up our Product Creation team for Metalwoods, which is the role I’ve been working in for the past eighteen months.

It’s been an interesting and rewarding career journey thus far and I look forward to where I can go from here. My time in Durham has been invaluable in my career, as I have not only relied on my engineering expertise in my current role but also maintained lasting personal relationships with several other Trevs alumni. Although I have thoroughly enjoyed living in Finland, UK, Japan, Australia, and Hong Kong, I envision me and my family staying here in Southern California for a while!

Tomo Bystedt Trevelyan College 1993-97

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Alumni

Julia Magill (Trevelyan 1979-82) and Celia Northam (Trevelyan 1979-83)

FROM THE NHS TO THE NEW YEAR HONOURS LIST Trevelyan alumna Julia Magill was awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours list for services to education.

Julia joined the fabulous NHS graduate training scheme from Durham and worked in health and social care policy over the next thirty years with the NHS, the Welsh Government, as Director of Health Services Strategy, and as a Visiting Senior Fellow. She has been a serial returner to Durham, studying for her MBA at the Business School (1993-95) and beginning a DBA in 2005. Unfortunately, serious illness intervened and completing doctoral studies had to wait until 2011 with a PhD from the University of South Wales.

In 2012, she was elected to Cardiff Council, and in an unexpected turn of events (from her point of view) was asked to go straight into the Cabinet as Cabinet Member for Education and Skills. Cardiff’s education service for adults and children had not been performing particularly well for some years and it was hoped that her ability to design and implement strategic change in the field of health and social care would allow her to take a fresh

Awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours list for services to education look at the issues. Fortunately, this proved to be the case. The average percentage of children gaining five good GSCEs went from 47% to 63% under her wing and the average success rate for adult continuing education courses went from 36% to 94%. She worked with Ministerial colleagues in the Welsh Government to secure ÂŁ168 million investment in replacing dilapidated schools and building new ones.

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The Cabinet role led to involvement with a number of education organisations, including chairing the Advisory Board of a new Regional Education Consortium for five Welsh local authority areas to raise standards across the system; being a Board member of the Cardiff and Vale Further Education College; and as Chair of the WJEC Exam Board. (It was quite something to be the signatory on GCSE and A Level Certificates!)

It was a tremendous surprise, but a lovely start to the year, to be awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours list for services to education.

It was welcome recognition, not only of Julia’s contribution, but also of the part that so many people played in improving people’s life chances by improving services.

It all seems a long way from arriving in great trepidation at Trevelyan in 1979, not knowing at all what life would bring. Julia looks back very fondly on her time at Trevs and made friendships from the very first evening that are now in their fortieth year!

Dr Julia Magill Trevelyan College 1979-82; 1993-95

THE BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY For the past five months I have been working in Antarctica for the British Antarctic Survey, as a summer meteorologist at Rothera Research Station (67° 31.94’ South, 68° 11.65’ West) on Adelaide Island off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. I’ve been dreaming about this job for thirteen years and it has totally exceeded my expectations. In the course of my work I have co-piloted planes, helmed an icebreaker ship, driven skidoos, undertaken fieldwork on the Larsen Ice Shelf, launched weather balloons, moved explosives, and made many weather observations for local flying operations and for the World Meteorological Organisation.

The summer has been hard work, with long hours, few days off, and living in close quarters with up to 170 people, but it has been fantastic. The recreation opportunities – skiing, mountaineering, boating, music, and watching the incredible wealth of wildlife that calls Rothera and the surrounding sea its home – more than make up for the few downsides of life on a research station. The weather has ranged from -10 °C, 50 knot winds and snow, to beautiful blue skies and warm sunshine.

I’m heading home at the end of March 2019, back to the real world, but I hope to return in the not-toodistant future.

Hannah Walker (née Bunyan) Trevelyan College 2005-2009

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Alumni

STANDING OUT FROM THE CROWD Laura Dorian has forged a career out of helping others to achieve their employment ambitions.

I am one of the many Durham University graduates who have bounced back, and now work for the University. Having graduated from Durham University, Trevelyan College in 2007 with a Law LLB, I was faced with the daunting task of looking for work whilst the economy was approaching a recession. Added to this the further ‘complications’ of not wanting a career in Law and wanting to stay in the North East and I was very fearful about my imminent employment prospects. After looking at possible career options, I applied to study Human Resources Masters part time at Northumbria University and worked full time to support myself whilst studying. I was successful in applying for a role with the Civil Service, working on a short term contract for the Job Centre (one of the few people actively recruiting large numbers at the time!) and from there was seconded to Gateshead Council, in a role supporting Gateshead residents to find employment.

Working full time and studying part time was definitely a challenge but it also helped me to fine tune my time management and efficiency skills.

Whilst working in this role, I was also studying for a L4 Information, Advice and Guidance qualification (and to think I naively thought my undergraduate degree would be the end of my studies!) and working directly with clients. It was in this role that I discovered that I had found my niche; I found real motivation in my role supporting others to achieve their ambitions. I was also seeing increasing numbers of graduates using the service and wanted to be able to help them make the most of their qualifications so began to look for roles in university-based careers services. I always wanted to stay in the North East but with limited university job opportunities, I had to move away

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to build my experiences to increase my employability. I successfully applied for a role in the University of East London as a careers adviser and from there took advantage of a number of roles supporting students with sourcing volunteering opportunities and starting their own business.

Just as my role at Gateshead Council was pivotal in helping me identify my career motivators, the opportunities I had during my time in the University of East London were fundamental to shaping my student-facing focus and strategic and project management skills. I had the best time both socially and professionally but when a careers adviser role came up at Durham University, I knew it was time for me to move home. Working at Durham can give you as many opportunities as being a student and I have continually taken advantage of the training and development opportunities available to staff. More recently, I was promoted to a Project Manager role which involves developing internships with SMEs, for Durham Uni students and graduates. I am fortunate that I work in a role that I love and that allows me to support students who don’t see themselves as a match for the traditional graduate schemes or those who want to stay in the North East region. Working here has also given me the opportunity to network with a range of talented people and I have recently co-authored a book aimed at supporting students and graduates to stand out from the crowd in a competitive job market – an ambition that I never thought I would achieve but has now firmly been ticked off my bucket list.

Laura Dorian Trevelyan College 2004-2007 If you are a small- or medium-sized enterprise interested in offering internship opportunities for Durham University students and graduates please contact sme.internships@durham.ac.uk If you are a current student or recent graduate interested in internships in the North East please contact sme.internships@durham.ac.uk

Send in your stories for

Hippocampus 2020 We’d love to hear more from you - and we know that other alumni will too. Please get in touch and let us know what you have been up to since leaving Trevelyan College, whether that be an interesting career choice, voluntary work, further education, or travel.

Please also take a moment to make sure that your contact details are up to date. Here are just a few good reasons to update your contacts: • We base our regional event invitations on the addresses we have saved in our alumni database. If we don’t have a current address for you, you may not be notified of events in your area.

• The 2020 issue will mark the complete migration of Hippocampus to an online platform. Every alumnus that we have an up-todate email address for will receive a digital copy of the publication.

Keep your contact details updated at dunelm.org.uk

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Announcements

Stephanie Halse-Huggard 26th January 1950 - 17th February 2018 Stephanie graduated from Durham University in 1972 with a joint honours degree in German and French. It was at Durham that she met her husband, David, to whom she was married shortly before her Finals in 1972.

Stephanie loved Trevelyan and everything about life at the University, and remained in close touch with the friends she made their throughout her life. Stephanie died on February 17th 2018 after a long illness, and is greatly missed by those she leaves behind.

Yvonne Parkin 30th October 1951 - 27th October 2016 Yvonne arrived at Trevelyan College in 1970, graduating in 1973 with a Combined Arts degree. She sadly passed away in October 2016, aged sixtyfour. Yvonne’s generous legacy gift to Trevelyan College is intended to form a considerable part of our Library Extension fund, and will benefit Trevelyan students for generations to come.

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS Ellis Perrin Conway Soderberg, born 1st May 2018 to Becca Soderberg (née Conway, graduated 2014) and Dave Soderberg.

Daniel Gibbons, born 24th July 2018 to Helena Gibbons (née Smith, graduated 2001).

To include an announcement in Hippocampus 2020 please contact trevelyan.development@durham.ac.uk.

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GIVING BACK There are many ways that you can give back to Trevelyan College.

JOIN THE ’66 CLUB The ’66 Club was founded with the aim of allowing Trevelyan students to take control of their own personal development and achieve their goals regardless of personal financial circumstances. The funds raised by the ’66 Club will not only finance academic travel, but also a wide range of student development opportunities. This can include research internships within the University, philanthropic endeavours at home and abroad, attendance at academic conferences, and so much more. Our students never fail to surprise us with their ingenuity, and we want to be able to help them succeed with whatever challenges they set themselves.

BECOME A SUPPORTER - make a gift of £19.66 a year

BECOME A MEMBER - make a gift of £19.66 a quarter

BECOME A PARTNER - make a gift of £19.66 a month

Donations to the ’66 Club can be made at four levels: Supporter, Member, Partner, and Patron.

Make a donation online at:

BECOME A PATRON - make a gift of £66 a month

dunelm.org.uk/Trevelyan-College/donations/ 66-club-home

INCREASE AN EXISTING GIFT If you are already part of the ’66 Club and would like to increase your gift, please get in touch.

STAY IN TOUCH:

JOIN CONNHEXIONS Our careers-based mentoring scheme allows alumni to share valuable advice with current students interested in working within their industries.

Register your interest at: dunelm.org.uk/Trevelyan-College/alumni-info

To offer your support in any capacity, or to discuss opportunities to give back, please contact: Rose Newman trevelyan.development @durham.ac.uk 0191 334 7045

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Trevelyan Alumni Committee: Get Involved The Trevelyan Alumni Committee proactively represents the interests of alumni at the most senior level in College. In forming the TAC, Trevelyan is leading the way, revolutionising the way that Durham Colleges engage with alumni and ensuring that all Trevelyanites, past and present, remain at the heart of College.

Sitting on the TAC is a great way to stay involved with College life. It involves meeting with College staff and other members of the Committee once a term (in person or via Skype) to discuss alumni interests.

Trevelyan Alumni Committee Application Form Name: Graduation year: Why would you like to join the TAC, and what expertise can you bring? (max. 100 words):

To register your interest in joining the TAC, fill in the above form and return it to the Student Development and Support Officer, Rose Newman, at trevelyan.development@durham.ac.uk.

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MERCHANDISE ORDER FORM

ITEM

QUANTITY

TOTAL AMOUNT

Umbrella (£20.00)* Scarf (£24.00)* Tie (£17.50)* Cufflinks (£16.00)* Teddy Bear (£18.00)* Necklace (£10.00)* Tote Bag (£8.00) Mug (£8.00)* Pin Badge (£3.50) Lanyard (£3.50) Pen (£2.50) Trevelyan College History Book (£2.50) Greetings Card (£1.50, or four for £5.00) College Postcard (£0.50) ITEM

POSTAGE COST

Asterisked Items

£2.90 (up to five items)

Unasterisked Items

Free postage

Name:

Total amount (incl. postage):

Address:

Please send completed form plus cash or cheque payable to Durham University to: Student Support and Development Office, Trevelyan College, Elvet Hill Road, Durham, DH1 3LN

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The Trevelyan Projects: 50 th Anniversary Projects GARDEN GYM Thanks to the generous donations of alumni, the Garden Gym is now complete. It is used extensively by the student body, and is a much appreciated asset to the College. We are now in the process of stocking it with up-todate equipment. We are in particular need of new aerobic equipment – treadmills, rowing machines, bikes, etc. – and hope to raise another £50,000 to fully equip the gym.

GARDEN OF REFLECTION The Garden of Reflection will be completed this summer. It is located in the Fellows Garden and, as the name suggests, will be a place for quiet contemplation, incorporating a water feature and wild flower areas.

LIBRARY EXTENSION Now that the gym is completed and the Garden of Reflection is well on its way, we turn to the third and final large project of our 50th anniversary campaign, the library extension.

We have already secured some funding for this project, but need more if we are to provide the best academic experience possible for our students.

While we will always do our best to abide by any expressed preferences, we would appreciate it if you could be flexible in your donation description.

This will enable us to still use your donation in the event of changes to projects.

For more information about any of these projects, or to offer assistance, please contact trevelyan.development@durham.ac.uk.

The Trevelyan Projects:

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Completed Projects Many years ago the College acquired a bronze bust of Mo Mowlam, the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who played an integral part in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement. Mowlam attended Trevelyan as an undergraduate student, graduating with a BA in Anthropology in 1971. In recognition of the importance of Mowlam’s contribution to British politics, the bust has been moved from its former home in the postgraduate common room to the Cobbles, where it is on display to both the wider student body and the general public. This move was celebrated at a special ‘Mo Mowlam formal’ on Friday 22nd March. Whilst the MCR understand the reasoning behind the relocation of the Mo

Mo Mowlam Bust

Mowlam bust, they will understandably miss her. As such, we are looking in to the possibility of having a 3D facsimile of the bust made to go in the Mowlam Room.

Reception Renovation Over the summer we renovated the reception area, redecorating and removing the support beam commonly referred to by the porters as ‘the upside-down rocket’. The new reception area features artwork by John Walker, mirroring the paintings on display in the Dining Hall.

They were donated by Joan Bernard, former Principal of Trevelyan College (1966-78).

The new reception area

Trevelyan College Elvet Hill Road Durham DH1 3LN Principal: Professor H Martyn Evans Email: h.m.evans@durham.ac.uk

Associate Principal: Dr Ian Latham Email: i.j.latham.durham.ac.uk

Student Development & Support Officer: Dr Rose Newman Email: trevelyan.development@durham.ac.uk

@TrevelyanCollege @trevsjcr durham.ac.uk/trevelyan.college

ALPH/06/19/933