March newsletter 2024

Welcome to your March newsletter. This month we’re excited for warmer weather and longer days on campus. In the last month, our students have returned to campus, and we’ve welcomed another cohort of postgraduate students to our York and London campuses.

Later this month, we’re holding our first YSJ London Network event! If you live or work in London, make sure to join us for a fantastic, free networking event and keynote. More widely, we’ll also be releasing our first Ripon newsletter of 2024 and beginning work on our second London newsletter of the year.

In this newsletter we’ve also included an exciting sneak peak for an event in early June for our entire alumni community to enjoy. And even better, it’s family friendly too.

Looking back

10 years ago…

Every year we ask our final year students to take part in our annual yearbook, and one of the questions they answer is about where they’d like to be in 10 years time. Over the years, we’ve seen every sort of answer, from the strategic, to the lottery-winning dream. One of our favourites from recent years was a student saying they wanted to be a reclusive writer on a Greek Island!

We can’t see the future, but we can look into the past. So what was happening at York St John 10 years ago this March? We had a look at our website news archive:

• Students volunteered to clean up the local area, including litter picking and garden maintenance.
• Our fantastic St John Central had been shortlisted for a design award after first opening at the start of the 2013/14 academic year.
• And our Netball team was at the top of the league after winning 9 out of their 10 matches!

40 years ago…

In April 2024, Jorvik will turn 40! Anyone who was studying with us at this time will remember the big dig happening on Coppergate, with plenty of media coverage over the following years. The then Prince Charles even visited! But how did Jorvik come about? The York Press are running a small series of articles looking back at how Jorvik came to be, starting with how Vikings were promoted instead of vicars!

You can read the whole article on the York Press website.

If you’d like to share your memories of studying with us, please complete an alumni snapshot.

Month ahead

March is a busy month! As a University, we mark a range of ‘International Days’ and religious festivals. In the Alumni Office, we also like to give a nod to a few other special days throughout the year too, and March is full of special occasions for people around the UK, and the world.

International Women’s Day

Held on 8 March every year, this year’s theme is Inspire Inclusion. You can read more about what this theme means and how to get involved on the International Women’s Day website. At York St John, we’ll be holding a range of events to mark the occasion, including an event from our Centre for Religion in Society called ‘The Gender Wars’: Radical Feminist Trans Inclusion.

Earlier that week, we will be releasing a webinar from recent alumna Jenna. You can read more about her webinar laterin this newsletter.

We will also be sharing a new blog looking at the reception and legacy of our first female Principal, Eva Lett.

Ramadan

March also sees the beginning of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours, but only if it won’t harm their health.

At York St John we support all of our students, which includes supporting students who fast during Ramadan. You can find out more about Ramadan and how we support our students on our website.

Easter

At the end of March, Christians around the world will celebrate Easter. At Easter, Christians mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many people in the UK will enjoy time off over Easter, and possibly enjoy one too many Easter Eggs!

• If you’re a chocolate lover, make sure to check out BBC good food’s 2024 list of best supermarket Easter eggs!
• Like many religious festivals, the date of Easter changes every year. English Heritage have an interesting article explaining how a Synod at Whitby decided when Easter was.

Holi

The Hindu Festival of Colours, Love and Spring will also be celebrated at the end of March. As students will be on their Spring Break during Holi this year, students will have the opportunity to celebrate Holi on 7 March instead.

• You can find out about our Holi celebrations on Eventbrite.

Mother’s Day

Mothering Sunday, commonly called Mother’s Day, will also be marked this March. For many people in the UK, Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate loved ones, be celebrated themselves, or remember loved ones who are no longer with us.

Guide to York

If it’s been a while since you visited York, you might be surprised by how much some things have, and haven’t changed around the city! Last year York St John produced a handy guide to the city for students, including everything from where to eat to the best way to do the city on a budget.

Project North Star

If you work in Education, make sure to check out Project North Star. Led by York St John alumnus and history teacher, Terry Graham, this project aims to inspire educators to explore Black History with a North-East of England lens. Although focused on Black History in the North-East of England, this project will be useful for anyone looking to learn more about Britain’s Black History, from the Romans to the modern day.

Project North Star will officially be launched in Sunderland on 15 June, with an event including workshops, guest speakers, and ‘open mic’ sessions for people to share their ideas and current work in this area. More activities, and the official project website, will be released closer to the event.

• Learn more about the project, and book your ticket on Eventbrite
• Follow the Project on X (formally known as Twitter) to see some of their previous work
• If you’d like to speak at the event, please complete this Google form

York 10k

This year, we’re excited to have a team running our York 10k again. If you haven’t already, there’s still time to join our team and help raise money for our alumni-funded scholarships. Scholarships support students facing a range of difficulties.

• A current, third year student explains the impact of their scholarship on their health.
• Katy, a final year Law student, has used her scholarship for large, planned expenditures, helping her continue her course.

Tickets cost £15 and include discounted race entry, a team tshirt and invitations to team runs this summer. Book your ticket via our online store.

News from York St John

Last month, BBC Europe editor Katya Adler shared her insights and long industry experience in a career workshop with students. She also intrigued and inspired her audience in this year’s Chancellor’s Lecture. You can learn more on our website.

Two of our academic staff, in conjunction with other Yorkshire Universities, have released research investigating how young people use video games to deal with loss. Their full Research has now been published; you can find out more about their research in a blog post from last year.  

Founded in 2016, the Moving Minds project provide opportunities for people affected by dementia to take part in dance and improvisation sessions. Sessions are now held in several settings around York and to date, over 300 people have taken part. Find out more about this project on our website.

A second year Film and Television Production student has recently completed a placement at The Times. Learn more about Grace’s fantastic opportunity.

London network

If you live or work in London, join us for our first London alumni Network event on Thursday 14 March. Held at our London campus, this free event includes a keynote from Jessica Thompson and plenty of opportunities to network with other likeminded alumni.

Jessica Thompson is Head of Membership at the Royal Opera House, and has previously worked in fundraising. If Jessica wasn’t busy enough, she is also a published author! During her keynote, Jessica will discuss her career working for non-profits and share key lessons.

Find out more and book your free place on Eventbrite.

Old Johns

Last weekend, our Students’ Union held Old Johns. Despite the wet weather, our alumni teams had a fantastic time and we hope everyone who attended had a great time!

 Webinars

This month we’re excited to release our latest webinar from Class of 2018 graduate Jenna Houston. Jenna works for Boldwood Books as a Publishing Marketing Executive. In her webinar, Jenna shares her career story so far and gives advice for others looking to start a career in the publishing industry.

Last month we released a fantastic webinar from Class of 1986 alumna Ros Denby. After a teaching career, Ros returned to University and trained as a Psychotherapist. In her webinar, Ros shares more about her career change and gives advice for alumni considering a career change.

Are you busy on Saturday 8 June 2024?

Make sure to pencil us in for a fun, free community day! Held at our Haxby Road site, we’re still finalising details, but we can give you an exclusive sneak peak…

• Free activities, including a climbing wall and inflatable obstacle course
• Free sports sessions for kids and adults to enjoy
• Free creative workshops

Plus, there will be food trucks, live music and face painting all day long. We can’t wait to host our first community day this summer, a free, family-friendly event for everyone to enjoy.

Keep an eye out on future newsletters, and on our social media, for full details coming soon.