Alumni

Your connection to Van Mildert does not end when you graduate. You join a vibrant and active alumni community, who are a vital part of our College.

Update from the Van Mildert Association

An update from the Van Mildert Association Chair, Neil Crimes.

Despite the challenges of the past year, we have attempted to still come together as an alumni community, often in unusual and interesting ways!

A highlight was the virtual Carols in the Bar which we held in December 2020 over Zoom, featuring recordings from College coupled with live and recorded contributions from Mildertians around the country.

It was wonderful to see around 60 alumni singing along to Christmas classics such as The 12 Days of Christmas and Bohemian Rhapsody! The event replaced the ‘live’ version we held for the first time the previous year, when we had a rousing time singing carols from the back room of a bar in Manchester (see photos). either hold a physical or virtual event again this year. The carols were preceded by our first ever virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM), which went surprising better than anticipated! The VMA relies on the support of volunteers to run and put on events and communications, so please do consider joining the committee to support us.

On the communications front, we produced a digital newsletter this year, which can be accessed at www.mildertnews.com and we also facilitated the launch of the ‘Mildert Memories’ facebook group (search Mildert Memories on Facebook to join).

This has proved a fantastic, insightful, and often revealing way for alumni to share photos and memories from their time in Durham. letters/notifications that the college officers have had to write over the years and the photos of ball, bop and concert posters that people have kept hold of. Please do join the group and share your old pictures and memories.

Finally, looking ahead to the next year, we have a few ideas that we hope to implement. The first is an informal picnic in a London park to allow people to meet whilst socially distanced and in the fresh air. And the second is an event to tie in with Lumiere to be held in Durham in November 2021.

Details will follow in due course and please get in touch if you have any ideas or wish to support the association.

Neil Crimes

Natalie Hiller (2010 - 2013)

Natalie Hiller (2010-13) has been recognised on the Shaw Trust’s Disability Power 100 List as one of the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK in 2021.

The list is an annual publication that highlights and champions the work of the many successful and influential disabled people across Britain, as nominated by the public. Natalie studied BSc Natural Sciences at Van Mildert between 2010 and 2013.

Natalie was involved in College life throughout her three years at Van Mildert, acting as JCR Committees’ Treasurer in her second and third years. After Graduation, Natalie joined PwC as a graduate trainee and qualified as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant.

During her third year at Van Mildert, Natalie began to experience difficulties with walking and the use of her hands. Following her graduation, Natalie had direct experience of the stigma around disability that suggests disabled people cannot be intelligent or successful.

Determined to change this perception, Natalie qualified as a chartered accountant and works in PwC’s Deals Business within Business Restructuring Services.

Passionate about challenging perceptions and supporting other, Natalie has worked hard to increase disability inclusion within the accountancy profession, volunteering as National Co-Chair of PwC’s Disability Awareness Network (DAWN) since March 2019 and has been instrumental in the network’s growth.

Natalie set up the network’s first regional subgroup, to provide support to colleagues in the north of England. This was a great success, and DAWN now has five local subgroups, as well as a nationwide buddying scheme. Natalie’s advocacy work has extended to communications and branding. She identified a lack of disability representation in PwC’s internal design assets and worked to develop a set of illustrations featuring disabled people at work.

These launched in 2020 and have since been incorporated into corporate branding. The same year, Natalie created a campaign to profile disabled colleagues and celebrate their achievements at PwC. Natalie’s own story was featured on corporate social media, attracting significant interest.

Natalie has mentored disability network chairs overseas. She encourages future generations of disabled people into accountancy by speaking at PwC events, including delivering thought-provoking talks on disability at student recruitment events and taking part in career blog.

Through her achievements so far, Natalie is changing the perception of both disabled people and the accountancy profession.

Natalie Hiller

“A high achieving disabled person once told me that disabled people have the potential to achieve just as much (if not more) than everyone else, they just have to do things in a different way. I have adopted this positive mindset throughout my career, and would encourage disabled students to do the same.”

An update from our Alumni!

During Covid-19, the Van Mildert Association re-launched the Van Mildert Alumni Newsletter online. This blog has become an opportunity for fellow alumni to share their stories and favourite Mildert memories.

The below extract is taken from the Mildert Alumni News website, featuring updates from alumni who graduated 50 years ago, collated by VM Alumnus, Alan Mortby (1967-83)...

Where are they now? – 50 years after Mildert!

Here is some news gathered by Year Rep Alan Mortby from the class that joined Mildert in 1967. It is great to hear of the Global reach of our alumni community – if you would like to share your own news, please do get in touch.

Robin Palmer writes from South Africa,

“I am retired following an academic career in anthropology in South Africa. I live in a former historic naval base of the Royal Navy in Simon’s Town, now a suburb of Cape Town. I am on my second marriage with a son and a daughter living in SA and married stepsons in London (two grandsons) and Melbourne (one grand-daughter). I am contracted to Rhodes University, where I spent most of my career and still write for them and supervise postgraduates — at a distance. Since coming to the Cape, with another Old Dunelmian, I have been organising get togethers for ODs based here and also liaising with Durham to recruit students from local schools.”

Alan Mortby writes from Switzerland,

“I am now retired after a career at the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland. My wife is Swiss, so we have now settled in Zürich. We have three children who have scattered across the globe – Australia and the UK – and are either married or engaged and I have one grandson.”

Huw Thomas wrote:

“I am now finally retired as of the end of 2018. My last job, that of Auditor General for Wales, was statutorily of fixed duration, and since its ending coincided with my 70th birthday and getting a CBE at an investiture at Buckingham Palace, I thought it a good time to start the third age of my life. My two sons are both married and I have in the process acquired some Czech in-laws and started experiencing life in Eastern Europe. Though my wife and I spend most of our time between North Wales and Nice.”

Dave Sterry writes from the New Forest:

“I am also now retired, having spent my working life mainly in the gas industry. I now live on the south coast a mile outside the New Forest National Park boundary.”

Steve Hurst wrote:

“Retired from Shell back in 2005 after 31yrs. Went from research lab to running businesses. Travelled the world and lived in Japan, South Africa, Kenya and USA. Worked part time after Shell, Non-Ex Chairman and some consultancy. Now fully retired, time with the family and still trying to improve my golf.”

Gwilym Stone

Join the 1965 Club

A distinctive student experience which benefits the whole College community and beyond is at the very heart of the Van Mildert College ethos and is reflected in our College motto, sic vos non vobis - not for yourselves.

We are delighted that the experiences of Mildertians past and present have already been substantially enhanced through the generous support of our alumni and friends. Indeed, this support has meant that we have moved a significant way towards our goal of ensuring that no student with the motivation and enthusiasm to engage in the collegiate student experience should be limited in doing so financially. The 1965 Club recognises the wonderful contributions from our alumni and friends and will ensure that we move a step closer to our ambitious and accessible student experience at Van Mildert College.

The 1965 Club directly supports various scholarships and bursaries; from PhD Scholarships and support for internships or conference attendance, to our recently launched Engagement Bursaries scheme which seeks to widen participation in all College based activities.

The 1965 Club has three tiers of support - Associate, Guardian and Keeper of the Feather - each of which offers different levels of benefits to donors and, of course, students! We hope that the benefits received by our members demonstrate our thanks to alumni for their valuable contributions to the College community.

So if you are already a regular donor, consider becoming a 1965 Club member so that we can appropriately thank you for all that you generously give to your College. If you’re not a donor yet, we hope that you will consider 1965 Club membership!

Associate Guardian

Donate £19.65 per year

You will receive:

- Hard copy of The Mildertian - Van Mildert College pin badge - Invitations to 1965 Club events

Donate £19.65 per quarter

You will receive:

- Associate level benefits - Invitation to High Table Formal Dinner More information, including how to join the 1965 Club is available by contacting the College’s Principal Office or via the Dunelm website.

Keeper

Donate £19.65 per month

You will receive:

- Guardian level benefits - SCR Membership - Invitation to Graduation Dinner

Keep in Touch

We are always happy to hear from our alumni and especially enjoy hearing their news and achievements.

There are a number of ways that you can keep in touch with Van Mildert College, including registering for email updates, following us on social media or simply giving us a call.

In order to make sure that you keep up-to-date with developments at Van Mildert College, it is important to ensure that we have your most recent contact details.

The easiest way to update your details is through the Dunelm webpages, which can be accessed at:

www.dunelm.org.uk/

The Dunelm webpages provide information on the latest events and activities organised for alumni, as well as outlining opportunities for volunteering or supporting one of the many College or wider University initiatives.

Updating your details allows you to select your preferred method of communication, as well as access to a number of alumni benefits. You can also keep up-to-date with current College activities through our dedicated social media accounts, with the details provided below. Simply follow or like us for regular updates.

You can connect professionally with Mildertians across the world via our LinkedIn Van Mildert group. Search ‘Van Mildert Alumni’ to join us.

If you would like any further information about how to stay in touch, please contact the Principal’s Office team via email:

vm.development@durham.ac.uk

Van Mildert College Alumni and Van Mildert Association

@VM_Alumni or @vanmildert1965 or @VM_Principal