College Life

Each year, the Common Rooms host a range of activities and events for their members, whilsts welcoming new students to the wider College community.

Mildert’s Covid-19 Community

As the new academic year began in September 2020, alongside the numerous health and safety concerns that now filled our daily lives, from new student ‘households’, Covid-19 isolation and testing procedures and new cleaning regimes, we were posed with a challenge; how can we pass on what it means to be a member of the Van Mildert College community?

Indeed, throughout the past year, the College’s Common Rooms have risen to the challenge, creating new events and adapting traditional ‘Mildert’ events for the new normal.

In particular, the College’s programme of virtual events grew exponentially; from lectures, wine tastings and fundraisers, to musical performances, open mic nights and evenings spent in the virtual Mildert Bar.

As our new students joined us for Induction Week, our inability to visit Durham Cathedral for the usual Matriculation service and official University welcome, provided an opportunity for a new tradition to emerge. The College’s Matriculation Book was signed by a representative from each block at Van Mildert College during a socially distanced ‘Formal’ during the first week of term.

It is hoped that this new Matriculation book will be signed by new students for many years to come.

During December, the College community came together to take part in our virtual Carols by Candlelight service. The programme of reading and carols put together by our Hill Colleges Chaplain, Rev. Gavin Wort, featured readings from College staff, alumni and student representatives, alongside carols performed by our VMCT PhD scholar Matthew McCullough, and even an international contribution from Van Mildert Prowse Fellow and Internationally renowned Opera singer, David Wakeham.

In true Mildert fashion, the Carols service culminated in a rousing, if slightly chaotic, version of 12 Days of Christmas!

The Carols by Candlelight service, alongside videos of our College virtual events can be found on the Van Mildert College YouTube Channel.

Across outreach, sport, theatre, music and arts, our students have risen to the challenges posed by social distancing measures, embracing new ways of engaging with their peers and the local community. More information can be found further in the ‘College Life’ section of the magazine.

Within all this, it is important to note that none of this would have been possible without the College staff team. In particular, our dedicated team of Catering, housekeeping, Porter and Reception staff, are the heart of our College community traditions, and have worked tirelessly throughout the past year to keep our College community, safe, fed and well.

As we look ahead to the next academic year and welcome a new group of students to the College, we hope to reinvigorate our College events and activities, whist still maintaining the most important tradition of all, that the Mildert community, staff and student, is at the heart of what we do.

Life as a First Year Student

The year at Mildert started off as it did at most universities: covid induced isolation within two weeks of arrival, then as freedom from that seemed close another national lockdown.

A story which very quickly might have become a prison novel or horror, became one of hope and welcoming.

A new rapid test launched onto the scene and Van Mildert was to be the college at the forefront. Livers-in, albeit somewhat tentatively, were invited to take part in a trial which had the potential to change the course of the pandemic which had thrown so much chaos into the world, that and free pizza!

Leaving Mildert at the end of Michaelmas term, I was looking forward to coming back in January, hopefully to a more normalized college. Little did I know that I would not return to the lake until the end of April. With heavy restrictions on societies and sports it has been hard to truly get stuck in. I was lucky enough to get elected as a student trustee for the Junior Common Room.

Although all done virtually, this has been a great way to get involved with our college JCR as we take steps towards independence.

After a socially-distanced freshers’ week which put other universities to shame, events started to trickle off. Wear Block decided that even if officially college life was disrupted, no one could stop our impromptu formal, and so we went to supper as usual – dressed to the nines, with plastic candles and table cloths under our arms.

Adapting to live with restrictions has been hard for the college but over the year we have been gradually able to experience more parts of college life. The addition of bar ‘pods’ to Tees Lawn permitted the bar to re-open outside and despite some slightly aggressive Durham weather, university life could restart.

The challenges put out by the current situation, were met head on and with positive student experience on both the JCR and college agenda.

A two-week isolation with relative strangers at the beginning of the year meant that I got to know my corridor, perhaps better than any of our predecessors had.

All things considered, Mildert has welcomed a new year of students into its community with open arms and made us feel at home under rocky circumstances.

Fergus Reilly

JCR Events

Despite the circumstances, this past year has seen some incredibly special Mildert events.

Whilst the events that happen year on year couldn’t occur in the same way, the students of this college managed to adapt old formulas or even create exciting new events that will likely retain their place in the calendar as we come out the other side of the pandemic.

A highlight of Fresher’s Week was the Outdoor Cinema on Tees Lawn, equipped with a popcorn stand, outside bar, and of course, Shrek. Then we had two at-home formals during the lockdowns to retain that bit of college normality, albeit virtually.

In the final term however, although restrictions had not eased completely, we managed to pull off numerous big-scale events, giving many students an after-exams period to remember. There was Dave’s final Principal’s Formal which saw many awards being given out, including an Honorary Life Membership of the JCR for Dave himself, which didn’t leave many dry eyes in the hall!

We also had a Mildert Day X Jam by the Lake event which saw our college celebration and the biggest free open air festival in the North East merge this year.

Regardless of the temperamental weather, many students and staff came to watch live music and experience the wonderful college atmosphere once again. In addition, there was a Summer Ball like no other held at Hardwick Hall – although unconventionally held in ‘pens’ of 24 in a socially distanced outdoor venue – there is no doubt that it will be talked about for years to come by the 1000+ attendees who attended! There were fairground rides, food stalls, lots of entertainment, and even the highly anticipated Tinchy Stryder.

Van Mildert Charity Fashion Show also managed to go ahead against all the odds, with over 100 models gracing the stage of our infamously inclusive event.

This year, it was held in a marquee at Durham Amateur Rowing Club, and raised money for Children North East with the theme of Regeneration.

There is no doubt that these events meant so much to people as they brought us all together again as a college community, and were definitely enjoyed all the more given the challenges and distance that the past year has presented.

Lucy Egan

VM Fundraising Weekend

This year, Outreach has expanded to include more fundraising within our projects, to support the College’s fundraising projects and the wider local community.

In November, we held the first ever virtual Van Mildert Outreach fundraising weekend. Given that the event was held during the second national lockdown, we were very restricted in what fundraising events we could put on safely.

Nevertheless, the event was a huge success and raised over £1000 for our projects in donations and sales.

As part of the fundraising weekend, all of the College’s outreach projects came together to organise an element of the fundraising, which was open to students living in and out of College.

Our new project, Community Mentoring Scheme, organised a food drive which received a large number of food and drink donations which were given to Centrepoint Sunderland.

Despite near-zero temperatures, YPP held a very successful socially distanced sponsored walk, raising a large amount for the project.

ECC designed some beautiful Christmas cards, which were so popular that they had to buy more supplies mid-way through the day to fulfil orders! across the colleges and CRC/CVS’s ‘Guess the Baby’ quiz was great fun!

Following the weekend, we arranged a trip to Sunderland in the College minibus to deliver the items collected from the food drive to Centrepoint Sunderland and it was great to meet the staff there!

Going forward, it is hoped that this event can become a regular part of the Mildert Outreach calendar and can raise even more money next year when hopefully events can be held in person once more.

Van Mildert College Gym

Van Mildert Talk & Support

At the beginning of the year we got together and discussed what we thought could be improved and started prioritising tasks that would need to be done. The first thing that came to both of our minds was the long-awaited expansion into the snooker room. A generous donation from a member of the College community, allowed this plan to finally come to fruition.

Whilst the covid-19 restrictions meant that we were initially unable to open our College Gym space in the Undercroft immediately, we opened the Household Activity Space in the JCR Well with equipment from the gym, which was open for all livers in to use within their household.

A burst pipe which unfortunately impacted some of the Main Building, and flooded the College Gym, led to the space being rejuvenated, with new flooring, redecorating and the installation of new mirrors and mats.

In terms of equipment, it became our intention to have equipment that matched the slickness of the expansion. We recognized that the free weights section and the cardio section were lacklustre at best and so, improving these areas became a priority. After a lot of research, consulting with staff from Maiden Castle, treasury meetings, etc. we finally received a set of dumbbells ranging from 2.5kg all the way up to 50kg, meaning that no matter your experience, we meet your needs.

To conclude, it has been an extremely tough year, but it has been worth it to see the gym transform into a much more inviting place, and we hope improvements will continue to be made over the coming years.

Alice Craig

Although we were unable to host any in-person events this year, we were given a great opportunity to revamp our online presence! We have seen a wide range of campaigns, including #BlackLivesMatter, LGBTQ+ History Month and #TakeTimeToSign.

Our 2020-21 Heads of Campaigns Alice Crosby and Isuri Sanchi, and our Heads of Pastoral Sophie Bodenham and Rob Welsh, did a fantastic job this year regardless of the obstacles that came our way.

Easter term has been focused upon Stressless Welfare with exams and we have also revamped the look of the Talk and Support logo, aesthetics and Instagram, which will be further developed with the help of our amazing new Heads of Campaigns, Scarlett Bond and Isi Ali!

We have planned a mixture of in-person and online welfare until the year’s end to ensure everyone is comfortable and safe, and our Pastoral team also looks to be a brilliant one this year, led by Joe Hoult and Jenny Anstey!

Looking forward into next year’s plans, we hope to reinstate our place in the Freshers’ Fair, our regular Drop-Ins and last but certainly not least, our SHAG (Sexual Health & Guidance) BOP, next January!

Finally, our new exec role of Junior Welfare Officer will look after those on the team, especially at times of pressure, reminding us that no matter who you are, college welfare is here to support you!

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for regular updates!

Blessie Simbol & Sophie Bodenham

Life as an International Postgraduate Student

Hi there I am Diego from Lima which is the capital of Peru.

I am quite sure that most people do not know a lot about my country or where Machu Picchu is located. I was normally asked if I commute in my country by riding lamas which is far-fetched and hilarious at the same time but at least that helps me break the ice at times.

I would dare to say that Lima and Durham are like poles apart since Lima is a bustling and cosmopolitan city that sprawled chaotically, on the other side Durham is such a calm and beautiful city where you can walk without concerns and breathe fresh air anytime.

Speaking of weather, in the UK this has been a big thing since my arrival, I have never experienced such abrupt changes in temperatures. One day, in a span of just 15 min, I could see snow, sunlight, drizzle and afterwards a beautiful rainbow… It was mind-blowing and was the first-ever time that I saw and touched snow.

Personally, I feel that studying abroad is a turning point in my life since it was the realization of a dream that I had had over the last 5 years and it implied sacrifices across all aspects of my life. Now, I feel that this dream has become the beginning of a new path in my life.

Even though we have been going through a pandemic which was out of the blue, this situation made us feel stronger and value life. As an international student, I also have plans to stay in the UK after my MBA and find opportunities that will broaden my horizons. Yet, I also realize that this situation is stressful for my peers in general since it put some pressure on us as our studies approach to end and because there is still uncertainty going on in the labor market. Something from my MBA that I learnt was that every person is a surprise box that eventually ends up contributing to our development. Every day we need to write something in our book of our lives… I am of the idea that at end of the day we just live once.

I still remember the first day when I arrived at Van Mildert, it was pretty hilarious because there was a guy, super affable, who looked similar to Santa Claus and I said I am too far away from home. When you live abroad, your room becomes one of the most valuable assets since it was the place where I could study

and take rest peacefully; in general, my room helped me balance out my active life and gave me a sense of privacy.

Unfortunately, I needed to quarantine for 14 days, this experience was like an ordeal since it deprived me of interacting with my housemates at the beginning.

Living in a college like Van Mildert represented a golden opportunity since it enabled me to live in a multicultural environment, my housemates’ nationalities virtually covered all the continents. Living abroad under the restrictions caused by the pandemic was a challenge since we were deprived of doing stuff that we normally could have done it as well as studying remotely led to a monotonous lifestyle.

This difficult situation was also overcome by the support of my housemates since they were when I feel lonely and when I went through a difficult moment, they ended up being part of my family.

In some way the pandemic helped us bond with each other in a deeper and unique way since we basically had the same schedule that allowed us to manage our times better to make space for small gatherings as much as we could.

When the College catering was not available, we needed to cook something on our own. This was also an opportunity to know more about their culture and understand the uniqueness of each person and how they are able to bring something valuable to the table.

On the other side, I was quite disappointed in some way with the online experience throughout the year since this was not something that we expected in the first place and could not enjoy the normal university life even though i acknowledge all the effort put by students and the university as a whole to run events which came in handy for all of us so that we could make the most out of academic life.

In a nutshell, this year has given me a unique experience which did not turn out as planned but it ended up being the best memory of my life since the people around me helped me understand the importance of friendship and turn an uncertain situation into a never-ending learning stage.

Diego Quispe-Arroyo