June alumni newsletter 2023

Welcome to your June newsletter! Wasn’t last month a busy one? With three bank holidays, the first warm weather we’ve had all year and the excitement of Eurovision, we hope you found time last month to relax and see the people who are most important to you! At York St John, we had a busy month as we marked the Coronation, began editing articles for this year’s alumni magazine, and highlighted different ways to support our students, including a new way to text donate!

This month, we’ll be focusing on all things reunion. We’ll be revealing the design of the reunion pin badge, sharing the start of the reunion playlist and reminding everyone who hasn’t already, to book your ticket or miss out! In June, we’ll also mark Pride this weekend, share this year’s webinars and continue asking you to update your details. In two weeks time, we’ll also be asking our Ripon alumni a very important question, so if you receive our Ripon newsletter, make sure to get involved!

Reunion booking closes 26 June 2023

How is it June already? It barely seems like yesterday we were announcing the reunion, and now we’re on a final countdown to the day! We’ve said nearly all we can say about the reunion but here’s a final reminder:

• Tickets start from £30, and all tickets include a meal and at least 2 drinks.
• Each ticket includes a £10 contribution to our scholarship fund, and so far we’ve raised over £2000!
• You can relive your student days in city centre accommodation over the reunion weekend, so you don’t need to worry about expensive hotels!
• If you’ve asked to be in a flat or seated with someone during the reunion dinner, make sure they’ve booked their ticket!

Perhaps most importantly, please note you will not be able to buy a ticket on the day, or upgrade your ticket from a day ticket to a full day ticket. This is to make sure we have enough food and drink on the day – if 50 alumni arrive on the day without a ticket, we wouldn’t have enough food or seating prepared!

Booking for tickets and accommodation closes at 11:59pm on Monday 26 June 2023.

Book your tickets on our website.

Webinars

Last month we posted our final webinar of the academic year from alumnus Mark. But you can still watch all of our webinars on YouTube!

• Learn about Nathan’s journey through brand and digital strategy
• From a Psychology BA to publishing her first novel, discover Ellen’s journey since graduating
• After 20 years’ experience in film and high end television, listen to Emma’s industry advice
• Dom’s interviewed everyone from Judas Priest to The 1975, learn more about his career
• With over 20 years industry experience, learn more about a career in tourism with Mark

Join us at York Pride

If you’re in York this Saturday for York Pride, you’re welcome to join our York St John community during the parade. As a key sponsor of York Pride, we’re proud to be inclusive at every level.

To join us during the parade, please meet our stewards on Clarence Street, in front of our Fountains building at 11:15am. From there, we’ll make our way to our starting place on Duncombe Place.

If you are thinking of joining us during the parade, please email alumni@yorksj.ac.uk so we can give our stewards an idea of how many to expect.

Events

This month, there’s a lot you can get involved with!

• York Festival of Ideas is back, with lots of free events to attend around the city, and on campus. Browse events on their website.
• Our Fine Art, Illustration, Photography and MFA students are holding their annual degree show this month. The opening night for the show is tonight, so if you’re on campus keep an eye out for it! Find out more on our website.
• Browse York St John’s upcoming events on Eventbrite.

Ripon alumni

We’ll be asking you a very important question in this month’s quarterly Ripon newsletter, so if you know of someone who should receive our Ripon newsletters and doesn’t, please ask them to email alumni@yorksj.ac.uk. The newsletter is now also being posted on our blog.

Support your staff with degree apprenticeships

At York St John, we continue to recognise the importance of nurturing talent and staying ahead of the curve in today’s dynamic business landscape. In 2016, a new pathway in education emerged, transforming the options available to working people. Degree apprenticeships offer a transformative and innovative approach that combines academic learning with valuable work experience.

Revolutionise your workforce by developing talent, future-proof your business and cultivate new solutions. If you are interested in developing your career or your workforce with a York St John apprenticeship, please see our current degree apprenticeships on our website.

News from YSJ

May was a busy month at York St John!

• At the end of April, our final year performance students completed our annual takeover of York Theatre Royal! This week-long theatre festival is entirely student-led, giving them fantastic real-world experience in their field. Learn more about their takeover on our website.
• Recent research has revealed new insights into recovery and management of mental illness through the bloggers who write about their own experiences. The research has led to a design for a new model for mental illness trajectory. Find out more about this research on our website.
• This summer, our students have the opportunity to work with BBC Music Introducing on their local ‘Balcony Sessions’. Recorded live in our Creative Centre, this is a fantastic opportunity for students and a chance for local music talent to reach a wider audience. Learn more about this on our website.
• We were also told the results of the 2023 Whatuni Student Choice Awards. This award is judged entirely on how our students rate us across 10 different categories, and we came 7^th out of 81 participating UK universities!  You can view the award results on their website.

Update your details

Some things on campus never change, like the quad, our welcoming student community and us asking our alumni to update their details! In April, we looked through past alumni magazines looking for information about Coronation celebrations, and in every magazine was a request for our alumni to keep their details up-to-date with us.

Please update your details on our website.

Remember your alumni benefits

As an alum of York St John, you can access a range of benefits. This includes alumni fee discounts, discounted room hire at our York campus and free on site library access. You can also add your business or access exciting discounts from alumni businesses through our business directory.

Browse your alumni benefits.

Eurovision

Last month the UK hosted Eurovision in Liverpool and it seemed the entire city got involved! Our Head of the School of the Arts, wrote an article earlier this year about the recent voting changes and how Eurovision has always been political. You can read more about this in a BBC article that cites her work.

York 10k

On 6 August 2023, York St John will be taking on the York 10k to raise money for our alumni-funded scholarships. If you’ve secretly been training since February to get ready, this is your chance to buy your ticket to join the team! We’ve secured discounted race tickets for just £15, which also guarantees you a Team YSJ t-shirt to run in!

If you haven’t secretly been training for a 10k since February, there’s still time to start your training! But if you’ve already made plans for Sunday 6 August, you can still get involved. You can support our community team by donating to our campaign page! Our aim is to raise £1500, the equivalent of half a three year scholarship.

Donate to our campaign on JustGiving or join our York 10k team.

YSJ Families

Earlier this year, we asked you to tell us about your family connection to York St John and our founder colleges. We heard some great stories, and we can’t wait to share them with you in the next couple of months!

Breaking Infinity screening

Are you thinking about a career in the film industry after completing your course with us? On Thursday 15 June, join York St John alumnus Paul at the Seven Arts Cinema in Leeds for a screening of his latest film. There will also be a Q&A with the director and actors, and the chance to network with industry professionals after the event.

Paul Desira studied Theatre, Film and Television at York St John, graduated in 2004 and began his career as a Feature Film Producer. Paul’s latest project, Breaking Infinity, will be released across selected cinemas in England and will be available on demand 3 July. Breaking Infinity is a time-bending thriller about a research scientist named Liam, who has become unstuck in time. Find out more about the project on the Breaking Infinity website.

Book your place on the Ticket Source website. Find out more about Paul on Alumination.

Fundraising Fortnight

At the end of last month, we spent two weeks talking all things fundraising across out social media channels. This included different ways to donate, why alumni already donate and what our scholarship recipients have to say about the impact of their scholarship.

We could spend a long time giving you facts and figures about our alumni-funded scholarships, it’s a hot topic in our office. But the students who receive our scholarships really do say it best:

• Watch a video from Eve on YouTube, who said that without the scholarship she’d have left her course
• Read how studying at York St John is an ‘absolute dream come true’ thanks to their scholarship
• Learn how one of our current students used their second scholarship installment to invest in further training which has supported Refugee Action York

We want to support as many students as possible, in your name. That’s why we’ve been promoting all the different ways you can donate, including by post, by sending a text and by completing your normal online shopping.

Find out the different ways you can donate on our website. Sign up for Easy Fundraising to donate for FREE on their website.

News from London

Did you know that you can still use your alumni fee discount on eligible London campus courses? Study in the heart of London in our brand new campus. Find out more about our London campus on their website.