Alumni Contributions
Alumni Contributions Name:
Melissa Bryant Year of graduation:
2014 Degree studied:
MSc Global Politics (the first year it was offered!) City and country of origin:
Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis Current job:
UK Media Lead, World Bank City and country you currently live in:
London, United Kingdom
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The World Bank. As an International Relations student, it’s an organisation you will inevitably come across during your studies. And it’s probably an organisation you could see yourself working at some day, helping to support its mission of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Honestly, when I applied for my current role, I was pessimistic about my chances of success. The competition for development jobs is fierce, and I was no stranger to rejection. I didn’t even think I was an exact match for all the criteria listed in the job advert. But I have always been a fan of taking well-informed risks. After all, it was this mentality that led me to Durham. In 2013, I had finished my undergraduate degree in the Caribbean, and was contemplating my options. Canada seemed like an easy choice – closer to home and more links to friends and family in the diaspora. But I could not get the Global Politics MSc at Durham out of my head. So when by chance I ran into a Durham alumnus in St. Kitts who raved about his experience, it seemed like it was fate. I didn’t expect the transition to be easy. Transporting a child of the Caribbean to the north of England in a drizzly September was always going to be iffy. And even now, though I love many things
about Britain, I can’t say the weather is high on that list. But Durham certainly is. Arriving at Ustinov was almost like an intellectual overload. Discussions at the GCR, both planned and spontaneous, were always riveting. My worldview expanded as I became privy to the perspectives of people who I could never have dreamed of meeting on my 68 square mile island. I never felt as though my background made me less credible; instead, I could discern the respect that my peers had for my contributions.
My time at Durham will always remain a highlight. Though I’ve been in London working in international development since the summer of 2014, I never forget where it all (figuratively) started; at Ustinov College. In my day job as UK Media Lead for the World Bank, I rely heavily on the principles that made me feel so welcome at Ustinov – the acceptance and promotion of diversity, both in thought and in cultural backgrounds.
I didn’t even think I was an exact match for all the criteria listed in the job advert. But I have always been a fan of taking well-informed risks. I never considered applying to another college when I was looking at Durham. And it’s a decision I’ve never regretted. Being in Ustinov meant being part of a community. It meant I had ready-made companions for adventures to places like the Lake District, and it gave me mates who would helpfully induct me into British pop culture beyond my rudimentary knowledge of the Spice Girls.
While the last year has been tough for everyone, it’s knowing that communities like these still exist that make me optimistic we’ll get through all this, together.
durham.ac.uk
