May alumni newsletter 2023
Welcome to your May alumni newsletter. In a month with three bank holidays, we hope you find time to see friends and family, as well as take advantage of some of the warmer weather we’re hoping for!
Last month, we marked three key religious festivals, watched Spring come to campus and like many around the UK, wondered where the sun had gone with the return of colder weather towards the end of the month. We also launched our new Alumination pages and asked current students to join our York 10k team. As a University, we also hosted some fantastic events, including some for the International York Shakespeare Festival.
This month, we’re excited to contact alumni who’ve bought their reunion tickets and tell them a bit more about the day, alongside a request for two key pieces of (fun) information. The Coronation this month has also given us the perfect excuse to research our history, and catch-up with an alumna with a royal celebration connection. We also can’t wait to hold our first fundraising fortnight where we’re going to be sharing information about our alumni-funded scholarships, and how you can support them – including how to support students for free.
It’s Coronation month
This weekend, King Charles III and Queen consort Camilla will be crowned in a glittering ceremony. Whether you’re going to spend the weekend glued to your TV watching all the coverage, or you’ll be using the bank holiday to see family and friends, we hope you enjoy the extra time off. But we thought we’d mark the Coronation with two new blog posts which we hope you’ll enjoy.
At the end of April, we caught up with recent alumna Eleanor Tomlinson. You might remember her from our International Women’s Day post and magazine article last year. But you might be far more familiar with her work, which went viral last year.
IMAGE – a photo of Eleanor’s viral artwork from the Platinum jubilee. It shows Elizabeth II walking away holding the hand of Paddington Bear, accompanied by a corgi carrying bunting.
We spoke to Eleanor about how her jubilee illustration went viral, how she made a stand against companies stealing and profiting from her artwork, and what’s next for her and her business, including her fantastic new Coronation Collection. Find out more about her journey since last year on our blog.
We also decided to look into our own past and see how we celebrated Coronations in the past. Although we just missed out on Queen Victoria’s Coronation, our students definitely celebrated the subsequent 4 Coronations. Including never before seen photos from our past, we hope you enjoy reading it on our blog.
Fundraising fortnight
We love to share things about our university and our history, including exciting events, new postgraduate courses beginning this autumn and of course, how amazing our campuses look. But we think it’s time we talk a little more about the other big thing we’re proud of: our scholarship work.
In the Alumni and Fundraising Office, we work to support the students who need it most with our alumni-funded scholarships. But what does that really mean? Our fundraising fortnight, hosted across our social media, will answer that all important question.
We’ll be posting case studies from scholarship recipients, information on ways to donate and support our students, and case studies from alumni who already donate to us. We want to share the fantastic impact of our alumni donations, and tell all of our alumni how they can support our students.
Here’s a sneak peak of what we’re planning:
- Did you know we launched a new group scholarship option? This is a way for friends to create a scholarship in their own name, and with their own criteria. Find out more on our website.
- You can read scholarship recipient case studies on Alumination.
- We also have a fantastic video from a recipient, who has waived her anonymity to share how much her alumni-funded scholarship changed her time at York St John.
- We’ve also introduced new ways to donate, including by text. You can find out the different ways alumni can donate on our website.
- Plus, there are ways to support our students which don’t cost you extra. EasyFundraising donates on your behalf when you shop through them, or you can submit a snapshot to give advice to recent graduates and current students.
Your YSJ Reunion
This month we’re very excited to contact all current ticketholders to share a bit more information about what to expect on the day, and ask for some very vital information. If you haven’t already, join over 200 alumni on 22 July 2023 for a fun-filled day in York!
- Every ticket option includes a tasty meal
- Stay in student flats in the centre of York to relive your student days
- Rediscover your student haunts and make new memories on campus
- Explore York with our exclusive Treasure Hunt
- Win fantastic prizes in our raffle, including a hospitality experience with York Knights, tickets to York Dungeon and a tour of a local whiskey distillery!
Postgraduate opportunities
Did you know that on average people with a postgraduate degree earn more than someone with a bachelors degree? Money isn’t everything, but did you know you can get 10% off almost all of our postgraduate courses because you studied with us? This even includes our PGCE courses!
If you graduated in 2019, 2020, 2021 or 2022 you could get even more off postgraduate study with us because you’re a recent graduate.
Learn more about your alumni discount on our website.
This month York St John is holding a postgraduate open day on Saturday 13 May. Including subject talks, the chance to see our new facilities and talk to your potential tutors, this is a great opportunity to learn more about postgraduate study with us.
Book your Open Day place on our website. Learn more about postgraduate study with us on our website.
Mental Health Awareness Week 15-21 May
This Mental Health Awareness Week’s theme is anxiety, something which a recent survey said 6 in 10 adults feel some of the time. The Mental Health Foundation has compiled 9 tips to help cope with feelings of anxiety, which you can read on their website.
Our York St John Communities Centre offers a range of services to support our local community with their mental health and overall wellbeing. This includes counselling, coaching, group programmes and free drop-in sessions. You can find out about their services and how to access them on our website.
Everybody has mental health, just as everyone has different levels of physical health. If you noticed your vision changing, you’d probably see an optician and see if you needed glasses. Looking after your mental health and wellbeing is just as important. With that in mind, here are some links you might find useful:
- The Mental Health Foundation has compiled a list of tips to support your mental health which are backed up by research. You can read them all on their website.
- They also have information on supporting someone else with a mental health problem, including supporting children and work colleagues. Find out more on their website.
- Mind also has a range of fantastic resources, including everyday tips, and information on how to seek support. Find out more on their website.
A whole new way to find out about events
Last month our fantastic Events team launched an Instagram page to make it even easier to find out more about events at York St John. They’ll be sharing information about some of the fantastic spaces you can hire on campus with your alumni discount, insights into the team and even sharing events live on their channel! They’ll also be sharing upcoming events, how to get tickets and more.
Follow the new York St John Events Instagram page!
York 10K
There’s still time to dust of your running shoes and join our York 10k team. At just £15 a ticket, you’ll get discounted race entry, support with your fundraising page and an exclusive Team YSJ tshirt!
Known as a personal best run, the York 10k is very flat, and takes you around some of York’s most scenic places.
Happy birthday YSJ
Did you know that York St John has two birthdays? In 1841, we opened our doors on 10 May for our first group of students, but awkwardly, no one showed up! In fact, no-one arrived to enrol until 17 May 1841, a whole week later. So that’s why we technically have two birthdays: the first day we opened and the actual first day when Edward Cordukes enrolled.
2023 is our 182nd birthday, and because it would make this email far too long to give you 182 ‘fun’ facts about our past, we’ll just stick to two:
- Our iconic Lord Mayor’s campus isn’t our original campus, and wasn’t opened until 1845
- Our quad hasn’t always been an actual quad. It wasn’t until 1905 that the final side was built to create more living and learning space, so until then our students had a very different view from their bedrooms!
York Pride
Next month, York is holding its annual Pride parade and festival. York St John is one of York Pride’s main sponsors and as usual, we will be marching in the parade and have a stall at the festival.
We’re proud to support our LGBTQ+ community all year round and are excited to take part in this year’s city-wide celebrations.
You can find out more about York Pride on their website.
Update your details – we’ve been asking the same thing since 1902!
Last month, we had the pleasure of looking through past alumni magazines to research what our students got up to celebrate the Coronation in 1902, 1911, 1937 and 1953. Let’s just say, the magazines made for some fascinating reading!
But in every issue and from both Colleges, the editors asked the same thing: for alumni to tell them if they’d moved house or changed their name. Back then, the College Alumni Associations were membership based so alumni paid for the magazine production, and any other events or fundraising. Nowadays, the magazine is free but it still seems we’re asking the same questions!
If you’ve moved, changed your name or would like to opt out of receiving a physical magazine, please let us know by completing this form. Please complete as many fields on the form as possible so we can find your alumni account with us.
News from YSJ
Students created an inspiring and innovative VR art experience in conjunction with the Aesthetica Art Prize 2023. You can find out more about what this entailed on our website.
Academics from our History and Creative Writing departments have collaborated with the Yorkshire Air Museum in an exhibit examining the role of aircraft in the Cold War. Learn more about ‘Minutes to Midnight’ on our website.
A new study looking at the physical consequences of teacher burnout has recently been published. You can read a synopsis of the study’s findings on our website.
News from our London campus
They say London is a city that never sleeps, and the same could be said for our London campus. Our London students enjoy a range of dedicated resources and have access to an exclusive array of internal events. After nearly a year in their new campus location, we can’t wait to share more about their work in this year’s alumni magazine.
YSJ Families
We can’t wait to share some of the fantastic connections our alumni have with York St John this summer. But there’s still time to get involved and share your family connections to us.
If a member of your family also studied with us, whether in 2022 or 1862, please tell us your family story. We want to celebrate our history by showcasing some of the fantastic family stories we know are out there.
- Know your great-grandma studied with us, but don’t really know much more? We’d still like to hear from you, and maybe even fill in some gaps for you!
- Proud as punch that your grandson is graduating this year? We’d love to hear from you to celebrate your family success.
Share your story by the end of May – https://app.geckoform.com/public/#/modern/21FO00ihrq2ll8007va8fz5u5b
Webinars
Another month, another new webinar! This month we’re excited to share Class of 2014 alumnus Mark’s webinar. With 20 years experience in the tourism industry, Mark shared some fantastic stories and gave valuable career insights.
You can watch all of our previous webinars on YouTube.
Alumination
We’re very excited to begin sharing the snapshots we’ve received on our new Alumination site. We’ll be sharing new ones every few weeks, so keep an eye out for new profiles to read.
- Find out what other people with your degree have done since leaving us
- Read industry advice from a range of alumni
- Learn what other alumni remember best from their time studying with us
Browse Alumination or submit a snapshot.
