April newsletter 2024
Welcome to your April newsletter. Last month we held our first London network event at our fantastic London campus. We also began working on this year’s alumni magazine, and continued planning for our YSJ Community Festival in June.
This month, we’re excited to release the full information and booking information for our YSJ Community Festival. We will also be completing some filming on campus to create a video about our alumni-funded scholarships, so we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for some sunny weather!
As campus begins to bloom, April will also see use giving more campus tours to small reunion groups. Come rain or shine, we always enjoy welcoming our fantastic alumni community back to campus.
Looking back
2014
Ten years ago our men’s rugby league team won the Northern Conference Cup for the first time! This was our first team gold medal in a BUCS competition, winning against Bradford 20 – 12. You can read more about the match on our website.
In the same month, students also enjoyed a visit from two of Britain’s leading documentary filmmakers. Students took part in workshop activities and enjoyed learning more about independent documentary making. You can read more about their visit on our website.
2019
Five years ago, Dr Graeme Law completed research on footballers and the internal pressure to buy designer brands and high end goods to fit in and avoid bullying. You can read his fascinating article on our website.
Five years ago York St John also received the green light for our Creative Centre to be built! Although delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Creative Centre is a hub for student life and activity. You can read more about when we revealed the plans for the Creative Centre on our website.
What’s happening this month
Every month, York St John marks major religious festivals and celebrations. This month we’ll be marking Eid and Passover.
Eid
This April, millions of people around the world will mark the end of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr. Did you know that in Turkey, it’s common to exchange traditional sweets like Baklava or Turkish Delight with loved ones? You can find out more about Eid on BBC Bitesize.
Passover
This April, millions of people around the world will mark Passover. This Spring Festival begins on the 15th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish calendar. You can learn more about Passover and how it is celebrated on BBC Bitesize.
YSJ Community Festival
Join us on Saturday 8 June for our first YSJ Community Festival!
Our family-friendly Festival is for our entire community to enjoy, and even better, all activities are free!
To attend, you will need to book a general ticket, and book your place for each activity. Booking will open in April – keep an eye out for an email with more information soon!
But for now, we can share that you’ll be able to enjoy
- A range of free sporting activities, including archery, tennis and tai chi
- Live music and food trucks
- Funfair activities, including an inflatable obstacle course and face painting
- Craft activities
Keep an eye on our webpage for when full details and booking go live.
Looking for book recommendations?
Our English Literature team have recently started an Instagram account documenting some of the wide range of books that our undergraduate and postgraduate students enjoy. If you’re looking for inspiration for what to read this Spring, make sure to check it out.
Upcoming events
On campus
Do you know what Fungal Gothic is? Join us on Wednesday 10 April for a fascinating performance in our Creative centre. Learn more about this performance and book your place on Eventbrite.
In April and May, we’re holding three inaugural lectures. Inaugural lectures are a way for our fantastic Professors to share some of their recent research. The next three are on subjects as diverse as burnout and how to mitigate it; creating more effective cancer treatment, and an exploration of social mobility and what has and hasn’t changed. You can find out more about each event and book your place on Eventbrite.
At the start of May, join us for an Ebor Lecture hosted by our Centre for Religion in Society. This free hybrid lecture will focus on hope in the climate crisis. You can find out more and book your place on Eventbrite.
In York
Throughout April, York will host several Shakespeare themed events and performances for York International Shakespeare Festival, including many at York St John! See Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello and Twelfth Night like never before. Find out more about the festival and see the full programme on the festival website.
York St John Communities Centre have relaunched their Bereavement Café sessions. Held every other month, the cafes provide a safe space to process grief. Bereavement counsellors and other helpers are on hand throughout the session, as well as a therapy dog. You can learn more about their Bereavement services, including the free cafes, on our website.
If you’ve visited York recently, or you’re planning to visit before 25 April, you’ll probably see some Snooks around the city! The Snook trail takes people around the city, highlighting some of York’s fantastic spaces. There’s even one outside York St John, and it was designed by second year Fine Art student, Emma. Find out more about the trail and Emma’s design on our website.
York Art Gallery has always had a fantastic collection, and many alumni will remember looking around the galleries between lectures! This summer, York Art Gallery’s collection will be joined by Claude Monet’s famous ‘The Water-Lily Pond’ as part of the National Gallery’s bi-centenary. Find out more about the exhibit on the York Art Gallery website.
York 10k
For the second year in a row, we’re putting together a team to run the York 10k and raise money for our alumni-funded scholarships.
You don’t need to be a runner to get involved! Our team already includes people who’ve never run a 10k before, and like many, started running using the Couch to 5k programme.
Tickets are £15 and includes your discounted race entry, finishers medal, support with your JustGiving page and invitations to team practise runs this summer. Join our team.
London network event
Last month we hosted our first London Network event! It was great to welcome alumni to our London campus for an inspirational keynote and chance to network with alumni from a range of industries.
You can read more about this alumni event on our blog.
A campus visit with a difference
Every year we welcome alumni and their families back to campus to share the history of our University, and learn more about our alumni community.
Last year we welcomed the daughter and grandson of one of our alumni to campus. After sorting through her late father’s belongings ,she discovered items relating to his time studying with us in the 1950s. We were honoured to have the chance to show late alumnus’ Barry Metcalfe’s family around campus for the first time. You can read about Louise’s experience and visit on our blog.
Student life
What was life like for you as a student? On the YSJ Life blog students share what life is like for them, including visits to the LNER Community Stadium and what a ‘day-in-the-life’ looks like for the modern day student!
To share memories of your time at York St John, and what you’ve been up to since, please complete an alumni snapshot. You can also read about what other alumni have been up to since graduation on Alumination.
Webinars
Last month we shared a new webinar from Class of 2018 alumna, Jenna. Jenna works as a Marketing Executive in the Publishing industry. In her webinar, Jenna shared invaluable insights into the publishing industry and gave tips on how others might get experience in this field. You can watch her webinar for free on YouTube.
This month we’re excited to share a new webinar from Class of 2022 graduate, Connor Crowley! Since graduating, Connor has pursued a career in sports and exercise therapy working with a range of clubs in England and Wales. We can’t wait to share his webinar with you on Monday 8 April.
