June newsletter 2024
Welcome to your June newsletter. Last month, campus welcomed prospective students during Open Days and celebrated the end of term at our Summer Archie’s Day. In the alumni team, we were busy planning our next webinar series, finalising ideas for this year’s magazine and, of course, doing our final checks for YSJ Community Festival! We were also excited to see the final video edit of our new Fundraising video, which highlights the impact of scholarships on our students.
This month, we’re excited to see as many alumni as possible at our YSJ Community Festival on Saturday 8 June. Over the new few months, we’re also excited to reconnect with alumni visiting campus for reunions. If you’re planning a visit, please let us know!
Coming up this month
York Pride
On 1 June, York held its annual Pride March. As usual, York St John was both a proud supporter of the event, and a proud participant in the march. Staff and students also ran a stall at the Festival.
At York St John, we’re proud to support our LGBTQ+ community all year long, not just in June.
Eid-al-Adha
This month, millions of Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid al-Adha. The festival remembers the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son to God, and is often celebrated by visiting family and friends, and donating to charity. Eid al-Adha is also the last day of Hajj, the holy pilgrimage to Mecca.
You can find out more about Eid al-Adha on BBC Bitesize.
Father’s Day
On Sunday 16 June, millions of people around the world will mark Father’s Day. However you spend Father’s day, we hope you are able to spend it with those who are most important to you.
News from York St John
York St John recently received an Ofsted inspection for our Degree Apprenticeships. Overall, we were rated ‘good’ in our first inspection, with the inclusivity and expertise of each course praised. You can learn more about our inspection on our website.
Meet the real Lady Whisltedown in a new project by BA English Literature and MA Publishing students. In 1746, writer Eliza Haywood launched the satirical periodical The Parrot. Written from the perspective of an angry green parrot, Haywood reclaimed the slight often levelled at women at the time, that like a parrot they could only repeat the clever things others (men) had already said. This new project brings The Parrot to a modern audience with a first critical edition, making it easily accessible for all to enjoy. You can find out more on our website.
Senior Lecturer in History, Dr Elizabeth Goodwin recently wrote a piece for the Royal Historical Society outlining the power of a History degree. You can read it in full on their blog.
Dr Own Kavanagh, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science, is part of a group recognised by the Lush Prize 2024 for their work to end unnecessary animal testing. You can learn more about the prize, and its implications, on our website.
Students’ Union hoodies
If you’d like a York St John branded hoodie, the Students’ Union are now selling them online! Hoodies come in black, blue, green and grey, and are available from size small to XXL. Hoodies cost £25, plus postage.
Find out more on their website.
Upcoming events
School of the Arts Festival
Be inspired by challenging, innovative work at our annual festival. From performances to screenings and showcases, you can find out more on our website.
Festival of Ideas
This month, York is holding its annual Festival of Ideas! From guided tours of York to lectures and immersive experiences, you can browse the full programme of event on the Festival website.
Some Festival events are being held on campus, including:
- The Enduring Power of Gulliver’s Travels on Thursday 6 June
- Disability Inclusion: Building a Better World on Friday 7 June as a hybrid event
- Mon Seul Desir: The Lady and Unicorn Tapestries on Wednesday 12 June
Quiet Pride
Join us on 15 August for Quiet Pride, an accessible, welcoming space for all to enjoy. Hosted in our Creative Centre, Quiet Pride includes space to create art, talk to other attendees or simply enjoy the moment. You can find out more about Quiet Pride and book your slot on Eventbrite.
YSJ Community Festival
Join us this Saturday for our first YSJ Community Festival! There’s still plenty of time to buy your free tickets and book your place on Festival events.
Activities include:
- Choir workshops
- Gardening sessions
- Wheelchair rugby
- Tennis
- Move It or Lose It
Find out more and book your free tickets on our website.
Looking back
- Ten years ago, our York St John Central accommodation had just been nominated for an award! Our St John Central site is still an incredible place for students to live and learn, and this August you could stay there too. You can find out more about staying in our student accommodation on our website.
- Five years ago, we held our fantastic week of ceremonies for our Certificate of Education Honorary Degree recipients. The Honorary Degree recognises the rigour of the Certificate of Education and can be awarded to alumni who studied with us before 1980. Since 2019, we’ve awarded over 2000! For more information about if you, or someone you know, is eligible, please email alumni@yorksj.ac.uk.
With you we can do more
Last month we showcased the many ways our alumni can support our students, and the impact of your continued support on our scholarship recipients.
As part of this, we’ve created a brand new video which explains the importance of scholarships and the impact they have on our students. Featured in the video are two current scholarship recipients, Rowena and Katy.
“By the end of my first year, I was honestly contemplating not returning to University as I did not feel it was fair for my daughter to suffer. So, when I found out I had been accepted for the scholarship, I was over the moon.”
Katy, current Alumni-funded scholarship recipient
Watch the video on YouTube:
YSJ Big Summer Read
If you’re looking for a summer read, then why not join our university summer read? Organised by our fantastic English Literature team, all you need is a copy of the book and some spare time from June to late August.
This year’s book is Babel: An Arcane History by R. F. Kuang. At 33 chapters long, the English Literature team have broken down how many chapters you need to read a week to finish the book by the end of August.
Find out how to get involved and more about the book on their blog. You can also read the book blurb and other reader’s reviews on Goodreads.
Webinars
Since launching our webinar series in three years ago, we’ve enjoyed webinars from a range of alumni working in different industries. Between October 2023 and May 2024, seven alumni have shared their stories, expertise and advice. If you haven’t managed to watch them yet, you can watch back all of our previous webinars on YouTube.
Alumnination
We love to find out more about our fantastic alumni community, and our alumni snapshots really show the range of careers and experiences our alumni enjoy after studying with us! We’ve recently posted snapshots from:
- Class of 2019 alum, Marc, a Customer Service Officer
- Class of 2003 alum, Tasmin, a Lecturer
- Class of 2022 alum, Declan, a Radio Producer
- Class of 2023 alum, Mona, an Ambassador
You can see what other alumni have gone on to do on Alumination. If you haven’t already, can you complete your own alumni snapshot on our website.
It’s reunion season
Alumni meet up, visit campus and reconnect all year round, but there’s something special about visiting in summer. Whilst you can never guarantee the weather in the UK, visiting in summer does usually mean it’s a bit warmer!
If you’re visiting this summer, we’ve pulled together a few ideas for what to do during your reunion or next visit to York or Ripon. Including low cost, and family friendly ideas, why not consider doing something a little different during your next visit?
If you’re planning to visit York this August, why not stay in some of our city centre student accommodation? Rooms are ensuite, located a few metres from the city centre and close to local bus routes. Plus, they’re very decently priced!
Find out more about booking a summer stay with us on our website.
Our history
For the past few weeks, we’ve been posting short videos detailing our history on social media. You can view them all on our blog.
