March alumni newsletter 2023

by · March 1, 2023

A banner which reads 'March Newsletter' overlaid on a photo of the York campus in Spring.

Welcome to March’s alumni newsletter! February was a busy month at York St John as we welcomed prospective students to campus for a decision day, enjoyed seeing our students return to campus after the winter break and held events marking LGBTQ+ History Month. For an alumni perspective we also loved (pun very much intended) sharing your alumni love stories on Valentine’s Day. It was also great to meet current students at last month’s Refresher’s Fair to discuss alumni benefits, and for final year students, completing their yearbook profiles.

This month we’ll be marking International Women’s Day, celebrating the generosity of our alumni community at this years’ Cordukes Circle event and continue to share fantastic stories from across our alumni community. We’re also excited to continue selling tickets for this year’s reunion as well as launching a new project asking for your stories.

International Women’s Day

On 8 March, we’ll be marking international women’s day with a week of posts celebrating our alumnae community. This year we’ll be posting our latest webinar from alumna Emma and sharing a new blog post about life at Ripon College a century ago.

Last year we posted blogs about our very first alumna and two posts looking at some of Ripon College’s history. You can read last year’s blogs using this link.

York St John will also be hosting events to embrace equity, the theme of this year’s celebration. On Thursday 2 March York’s businesswomen can attend an inspiring event including guest speakers, attend digital training workshops and sign up for mentoring.

A pitching and networking event is also being held on International Women’s Day itself. Angel Investors allows applicants to pitch for up to £1000 of investment. One investor is actually one of our own alumni! Graham Kennedy did his Masters degree with us, and is keen to give ‘something back’!

Find out more about these two events on our website.

A black and white photograph of a group of young women sat and standing in rows to take a class photo. At the centre, towards the middle are staff members. Taken in 1923, the photo is on a tennis court with a background of various trees. The women are all wearing 1920s clothing: pale blouses and dark skirts for most. Many have their hair in shorter style, some with a headband vertically across their foreheads, Gatsby style.

A month of religious observations

This month we’ll also be marking Holi on 8 March and the start of Ramadan on 22 March.

Holi is an ancient Hindu festival that celebrates spring, love and new life. Also known as the festival of colours, you can find out more about Holi on BBC Bitesize.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is based on the lunar cycle. During Ramadan, most Muslims around the world fast between dawn and sunset unless fasting would be harmful. For example, if they are unwell, pregnant or too young. You can find out more about Ramadan on BBC Bitesize.

Boat club display

Did you know that one of our sports clubs was founded in 1852? Now called the Boat Club, some of our alumni might remember it better as the rowing club from your time with us.

Last year, we began a project to document some of our oldest club’s history, culminating in a brand new timeline of the Boat Club’s history. Newly installed in the boat house, we think it looks great!

Find out more about this project on our blog.

An image of the display itself. Titled York St John Boat Club 1852-2022 it shows a thick blue ribbon of the ouse as the timeline itself. Coming off the river are arrows leading to different periods of time. There are various photos included, including team shots and the team in action.

Your YSJ Reunion

We’ve been blown away by the response to Your YSJ Reunion 2023! On 22 July 2023, we can’t wait to welcome as many alumni to campus as possible. So far, we’ve sold over 170 tickets with many deciding to stay in our student accommodation too.

Our reunion is also raising money for our alumni-funded scholarships. Every ticket includes a £10 contribution to our scholarship fund and every raffle ticket sold is also directly added to our fund. So far, thanks to our ticket and raffle sales, you’ve raised nearly £2000 for the students who need it most!

Raffle prizes include a York Knights experience, a local distillery tour and tickets to local attractions. At just £5 for a strip of raffle tickets, you can support our students and win a fantastic prize at the same time.

Book your tickets, accomodation and raffle tickets on the online store.

Old Johns

This weekend, York St John’s annual Old Johns event is taking place! Including the chance to play against the current student teams, the opportunity to sing your heart out with karaoke and space to catch up with old friends, we hope everyone attending has a fantastic time!

You can find out more about the Old Johns itinerary on our website. If you’re planning on attending, please complete this Old Johns form.

A black and white photo of the hockey team from 1920. They are arranged across three heights with some sat on chairs, some standing and some standing on benches. They are wearing their gym kits, which include a collared top and shorts. On the left, one student has their collar popped and arms crossed. The central student has his legs crossed and is glaring at the camera – it looks a little intimidating. In contrast another student is smiling.

YSJ take on the York 10K

We need your help! This August, we’d like to run the York 10K with a team of alumni, students and staff to raise money for our alumni-funded scholarships. We know that 10k sounds a bit daunting, but does 6.2 miles make it sound more manageable?

In York terms, it’s the same distance as running from York St John to Clifford’s Tower and back, four times! The York 10k is also known as a good course for beginners or to get a personal best due to its flat terrain.

To join our team, you need to buy a discounted ticket and commit to raising £100. In return, you’ll be part of our fantastic university team, receive a discounted ticket and a team YSJ tshirt to run in!

Join our team by buying your discounted ticket.

Sing for Pleasure

Manvinder Rattan is an alumnus of York St John twice over, having studied with us before being awarded a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) in 2016! He is directing a short singing course at our Creative Centre on Thursday 13 – Saturday 15 April 2023. Designed for experienced singers with good sight reading and vocal skills, this short course is a great chance to enhance your vocal experience and repertoire.

Find out more about this short course on the Sing for Pleasure website.

YSJ Families launch

This month we’re launching our new project – YSJ Families. We know that for some of our alumni, York St John runs in the family. We’d love to learn more about these fantastic stories of families attending York St John or any of our founder colleges.

If you and any family member attended York St John University, The College of Ripon and York St John, St John’s College or Ripon College, we’d like to hear from you.

To get involved, please complete this short form.

A photo looking out across the quad in summer time. The grass is green and looks inviting. The central flower bed is vibrant and the ivy growing up the walls of the quad buildings looks impressive.

Be the voice of YSJ History

This year, we’d like to bring our history to life. You might know that we have a self-guided heritage tour of our campus, and after updating it last year with our newest buildings, we’d like to create an audio-guide of our oldest campus. This is where you come in.

We’d like members of our alumni community to provide the voiceover for our tour! Who knows our campus better than our alumni community? To apply to be the voice of YSJ History simply email a MP3 recording of you reading the following paragraph to alumni@yorksj.ac.uk by Friday 24 March. The quality of the MP3 doesn’t matter, we just want to hear your voice!

The college opened with a single student, 16 year old Edward Preston Cordukes from York. 1 more student arrived in July and another 2 in September. These candidates for the college had to bring a certificate with them to show their “moral character, docility and general aptitude”. 

In the Summer of 1846, 3 young women carrying their tin trunks arrived at the gloomy building at 14 Monkgate and The Diocesan Institution for Female Teachers was launched. It wouldn’t be until 1862 that the two institutions split into St John’s College and Ripon College.

Free wills month

Did you know that March and October are free will months? If you’re over 55, free wills month is a simple and effective way of creating a will with the help of professionals.

Remember a Charity states on their website that 54% of adults in the UK don’t have a will and over 5 million adults don’t know how to go about getting one. Their website gives lots of information on free wills month, including other ways of writing a will for free. You can find out more on their website.

If you’d like to learn more about leaving a gift in your will to York St John, you can find out more on our website. You can also find out how to access support from our law clinic, including around the subject of wills, on our website.

Alex Finlayson blog post

At the end of last month, we posted a blog from alumnus Alex Finlayson. Alex came to us with an unusual story: during his first few weeks in York he was inspired to write a story. Now that novel has finally been published!

Including his writing story, his memories of studying with us, and his advice for recent graduates, read his blog in full.

A black and white photo of Alex. It looks quite serious as it's an author photo. Alex is wearing a dark top and staring at the camera from and angle. Behind him are bookcases and storage shelves, blurred.

News from YSJ

There’s always a lot happening at York St John alongside the everyday teaching and learning you’d expect at a university!

Webinars

So far this year we’ve already released 2 fantastic webinars! Nathan and Ellen both shared their career stories so far, their favourite memories from their time studying with us and their advice for recent graduates.

If you haven’t already, you can watch them for free on YouTube.

This month we’ll releasing our third webinar of 2023 on International Women’s Day. Aluma Emma Mallett has worked her way up from being a runner on Thomas the Tank Engine to becoming a Line Producer on new Netflix drama Damage. When her webinar goes live next Wednesday, you can watch it on YouTube via this link.

York Restaurant week

If you’re heading to York between 6 – 12 March, make sure to take advantage of York Restaurant Week! With lots of local businesses taking part, deals start at £5.

Find out more about which local restaurants are taking part and find out how to secure your deals on the York Restaurant Week website.

Upcoming events

At York St John we hold and host a range of fantastic events all year round. This month we’re holding a diverse range of events including a panel discussion with agents and editors about getting published, the Eleanor Worthington Prize opening, inaugural lectures and a conversation with Lord Kinnock, Labour leader from 1983-92.

You can find out more about all of these fantastic events, and book your free tickets for them, on our Eventbrite page.

March is also the month when York holds its very own literature festival! Sponsored by York St John, there a range of low price events to attend throughout the month including literary walks around York, discussions with authors, a whole day dedicated to children’s activities and much more. Browse the literature festival’s events and book your tickets on their website.

CELTA discounts

Did you know that as an alum you can get a 10% discount off our Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) course? Including online and part-time options, this well-regarded qualification could be the key to your next career step. Find out more about the course on our website.

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