January Newsletter 2024
Welcome to your first alumni newsletter of 2024! Christmas may be over, but there’s still a lot to look forward to in the next few months. This month, like many, we’ll be catching up with work from the end of 2023, getting used to eating less mince pies and enjoying spending time on campus as it gets ready to welcome students back at the start of February.
Holocaust Memorial Day
At the end of January, we will be marking Holocaust Memorial Day. This year’s theme is on the Fragility of Freedom. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has written about what this theme means on their website. Their website also includes information about their work, resources and how to get involved.
Find out more about this year’s theme on their website.
Old Johns
This year’s Old Johns is taking place on Saturday 2 March, and is being run exclusively by the Students’ Union.
- Sports fixtures will be announced in due course
- £1 a pint and karaoke will be available on the evening
You can register your interest in attending on their Facebook . If you have any questions about fixtures, please email them directly. Their email address is sportunion@yorksj.ac.uk.
Postgraduate open day
If you’re thinking about completing a postgraduate course with us, why not join us at our Postgraduate Open Day on Saturday 16 March?
Our Open Day will include the chance to speak to course tutors, admissions staff, the research office and our student funding team. Whether you’ve already picked your course, or are thinking about it for the future, attending our Open Day is a great way to find out more.
Heritage Map
You might have studied with us, but how much do you know about our University history? Last year, we created a new audio guide for our York campus, explaining some of our history and the history of key campus buildings.
You can access the guide from home, or next time you’re on campus. Plus, each section is narrated by someone who studied with us, or one of our founder colleges.
Listen to our audio heritage guide.
Alumination
Last year we asked alumni to submit their alumni snapshots so they could be posted on Alumination. This year, we’d like to receive even more snapshots from our fantastic community.
No matter what you’ve done since completing your course with us, we’d like to hear from you. Your alumni snapshot can also include details about your memories of studying with us, and why you picked to study with us.
Complete your alumni snapshot today on our website.
Love is in the air
Every year we share some of our YSJ Love Stories, and this year we’d like to share even more! If you met your significant other whilst studying with us, or because your studied with us, we’d love to learn more about your love story.
We would like to showcase a diverse range of love stories, including those from our LGBTQ+ community.
To get involved, please email your love story to alumni@yorksj.ac.uk and we will get back in touch as soon as possible.
You can reread the YSJ Love Stories we shared in 2023 and 2022 on our blog.
YSJ London network
This Spring, we’d like to launch an alumni network for those living or working in London. But before we do so, we’d like to find out how many alumni would be interested in attending, and what you’d expect from the event.
If you live or work in, or around, London, please complete our short feedback from.
Webinars
This month, we’re excited to release our first webinar of 2024 from Class of 2011 alumnus Ozzie Pullin. Ozzie studied Film & Television and has since directed music videos for artists like Lewis Capaldi, John Newman and Wolf Alice. Adverts for English Heritage, River Island and Stella McCartney have also used Ozzie’s talents.
Ozzie’s webinar will go live on Monday 8 January 2024. Please keep an eye on our social media channels for the webinar link.
Upcoming events
What have you got planned for the next few weeks? At York St John, we’ve already got plenty of events scheduled for the next few weeks and months, and more to be added once everything is confirmed.
You can already book tickets for free event, s including events for LGBTQ+ History Month and International Women’s Day. Some events for York Literature Festival are also already live on Eventbrite, alongside lectures and book launches!
Browse our upcoming events on Eventbrite.
Coming up in 2024
This year, we’re excited to meet, talk to and support more alumni than ever. In 2024, we’ve got some big plans including:
- The launch of two alumni networks
- More webinars from a wide range of alumni
- Another chance to run the York 10k for our scholarship fund
- The launch of our London campus quarterly newsletters
During 2024, we’ll also begin planning our 2025 summer reunion, hold our third annual Cordukes Circle event and much more.
Remembering Janey
On Saturday 20 January, our Boat Club are holding a boat naming ceremony for Colonel Jane ‘Janey’ Hunter (nee Bothwell) who sadly passed away in 2021. Jane was Ladies Club Captain from 1988-1989 and President from 1989-1990.
Organised by Jane’s friends to create a lasting legacy, they are also raising funds for the Boat Club to help students enjoy the same opportunities as Jane did.
For more information on attending the ceremony, and their fundraising efforts, please visit their JustGiving Page. For more information on creating a York St John Legacy, please visit our website. You can also find out about our new Remembrance Leaves on our website.
