December Alumni Newsletter 2021
Welcome to December’s newsletter! November was very busy at York St John, with some teaching beginning in the Creative Centre, Remembrance Day commemorations and a week of graduation ceremonies. We also hosted our second webinar with the fantastic Dr Tracy Rea.
This month we’re looking forward to attending the Christmas Carol Service in York Minster, posting some fun festive throwbacks, and of course, celebrating Christmas. This month, we’ll also be posting a blog about leaving a gift to York St John, with a festive twist!
COP26
COP26 might have finished, but the long term impact of their discussions will be felt for years to come. At York St John, the Institute for Social Justice posted a blog every day of the conference on a range of subjects. From teaching climate and racial justice at school to eco-anxiety, their range of blog posts from a range of contributors are well worth a read.
York St John’s Dr Catherine Heinemeyer also collaborated with other performance activists to coordinate a national performance highlighting that it is now ‘Code Red’ for the climate. As part of the performance, 100 silent ‘Red Rebels’ completed a three-day pilgrimage from Cornwall to Glasgow on the national rail network. You can find out more in an article on our website.
‘Tis the Season
Festive fun returns to York
York city centre is once again hosting a fantastic Christmas Market. Cancelled last year due to the pandemic, our streets are once again filled with the smell of mulled wine and hot chocolate. The usual ice rink is also back at York Designer Outlet for anyone brave enough to venture onto the ice. What was York like at Christmas whilst you were a student?
Remember your alumni benefits!
Still trying to decide what to get someone for Christmas? As an alum of York St John, our Alumni Business Directory has plenty of places to buy your presents, and you’ll get a discount! Buy a fantastic gift and help one of your fellow alumni this Christmas too.
You can also get 10% off York Gin and York Cocoa House when you buy from them direct, both online and instore. Simply quote the below to get your discount:
- YSJ2021 for York Gin
- YORKSTJOHNS10 for York Cocoa House
Easy Fundraising
Would you like to donate money to us, for free and at no expense to you? We’ve partnered with Easy Fundraising, a platform that allows you to donate money to our scholarships fund at no cost to you.
How do I do it?
- Create an easy fundraising account and set us as your charity of choice
- Search their website for your retailer of choice. For example, ASOS, Marks & Spencer or Tesco.
- Click the link and complete your shopping as normal – neither us or Easy Fundraising get any of your details. Not your card details, not your address and not what you’re buying.
- We receive a percentage of your total, for free!
How does it work?
Easy Fundraising works like a cashback app. By clicking through to a website using the Easy Fundraising link, the ‘thank you’ money they would usually get for directing business their way goes to charity instead. It’s all perfectly legal and above board, you just need to remember to do it! 93% of their Trustpilot reviews are either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Great’, so it’s not just us saying how easy it is to use.
Our Carol Service
There’s still time to book your ticket for this year’s fantastic Christmas Carol Service on 6 December. Once again hosted in the beautiful York Minster, our Carol Service really brings the whole York St John community together. Book your ticket now.
Look after your mental health this festive season
We know that whilst Christmas is meant to be the most wonderful time of year, that reality can often be very different. After last year when we were all restricted as to what we could do and who we could see, this year your festivities might have been dialled up to 100. It’s okay to accept that this might not be a good thing.
For many, Christmas can be the most stressful time of year as we try to manage our time and finances. It can also remind us of the people we aren’t celebrating with this year, the people we’d rather not see, and how your Christmas measures up to everyone else’s.
The mental health charity Mind has a fantastic section on their website exploring how Christmas can impact your mental health, how to support someone else’s mental health over the festive period and tips to support your own. You can read their advice on their website.
- The Mental Health Foundation also has useful tips for manage your mental health this festive season
- Time to Change’s booklet of practical tips is also worth a read
- Heads Together has also produced a webpage of useful tips and tricks
Upcoming Events
Disability History Month: In Conversation with Alex Heron
Thursday 2 December | 6pm-7pm | Free | Online
To mark York Disability Week, join YSJ alumna and photographer Alex Heron for a conversation about her intensely personal photography project, ‘Breadth: Spanning the Spectrum’, which aims to challenge preconceptions of people living with autism. In conversation with Professor Esther McIntosh (York St John University), Alex will explore what it means to be autistic and how sharing personal stories helps to challenge stigma. Find out more and book your place now.
Japanese Performing Arts Festival
Saturday 4 December | In-person
In early December take part in our exciting Japanese Performing Arts Festival as part of the official Japan Season of Culture. On Saturday 4 December join a morning of hands-on workshops including Taiko drumming, Japanese singing, koto and Tea tastings. In the afternoon, watch a fantastic afternoon of performances from a range of Japanese performing arts.
Find out more about the morning workshops and book your place via Eventbrite. Find out who’s performing in the afternoon, and book your place now.
A Counselling and Mental Health Centre update
Our Counselling and Mental Health Centre has a new name in preparation for its move into new premises! The York St John Communities Centre will work within and with multiple communities to provide access and support for Mental Health in York.
Last month, their blog contained helpful posts about what trauma is, how decluttering can help your mental health, the impact of shouting on mental health what self-soothing is and how to do it.
If you’d like updates on mental health, the new York St John Communities Centre and more in your inbox, they’ve recently launched their own newsletter. You can sign up for it now.
Webinars
Last month we hosted an inspiring webinar with Dr Tracy Rea. Tracy discussed how she took every opportunity possible to build her professional network, and how this helped her in her career. She also shared tips for recent graduates. You can watch her webinar on YouTube now.
Next month, we’ll be welcoming Yorkey Dads and Menfulness founders Dan Braidley and Jack Woodhams in our next webinar. We can’t wait to learn about their journey from YSJ graduates to founding not one, but two local community groups. You can book your place on our next webinar on Eventbrite.
#StopSpiking
At the end of October and throughout November, you might have noticed news articles about the prevalence of spiking. Spiking is traditionally defined as adding alcohol or drugs to someone else’s food or drinks surreptitiously. Unfortunately, in recent months this dangerous and malicious practise has been compounded by unsuspecting students being spiked via injection too.
In response to this, our Students’ Union has begun its #StopSpiking campaign. Including information on what to do if you, or someone you know, has been spiked, our Students’ Union is investigating ways to prevent spiking and how to make nights out in York safer.
Whilst the onus is on spiking perpetrators rather than victims, our Students’ Union are also providing free anti-spiking drinks toppers for current students to help keep students safe. They will also continue their work to fight for systematic change.
Graduation
Last month we welcomed our Class of 2020 back to York to celebrate their fantastic achievements over 10 graduation ceremonies. We also announced the dates for our February 2022 ceremonies for the Class of 2021. Want to watch your ceremony again, or interested in seeing what our current graduations look like? You can watch all of them back on YouTube.
We thoroughly enjoyed celebrating their success, and can’t wait for the next set of ceremonies in February! If you have any advice for our new graduates, please let us know! Email alumni@yorksj.ac.uk with your advice.
We can’t wait to celebrate with the Class of 2021 in February. If you’ve yet to receive information about your ceremony, please email degreeceremonies@yorksj.ac.uk. Remember to book your place by 17 December!
Lots to Blog About
Last month we posted quite a few blogs:
- Amy Stewart’s blog about how her time at YSJ shaped her as a writer
- Our Remembrance Blog including photographs of some of the alumni who gave their lives during World War One and Two
- The World Access to Higher Education Day blog explores why students apply for scholarships, and the impact they have on their lives
- The Giving Tuesday blog gives your five fantastic reasons to give to charity
This month we’ll be posting a little less on our blog since it’s the run-up to Christmas. But, we will be posting a festive blog about leaving us the best gift ever, a gift in your will. Featuring The Muppets, Charles Dickens and York St John, this is a blog you won’t want to miss!
Alumni Careers
From marketing to programming, our careers team currently has 14 short internships live on LaunchPad Online. Perfect for getting some industry experience for your CV, these short internships will help you gain both industry and transferable skills to use as you continue searching for a good graduate role.
Already got a job? LaunchPad Online is a great place to look for exclusive job postings when you decide it’s time for a change. From local roles to international companies recruiting for overseas, there’s a job for you on LaunchPad Online!
Mediaworks x YSJ Social Media Marketing short course
This January in conjunction with York St John, Mediaworks are holding a free short course on social media marketing. Studied wholly online and designed to be completed in your own time, up-skill in areas including digital marketing insight, social media management, content creation, brand and community building.
