I hope you've enjoyed being back in the lecture theatres and the seminar rooms and are engaging with intellectually stimulating topics in the first teaching week of Spring Term.
Dear Classicists,
In this week’s issue of the Classics News:
- “You Asked-We Did”
- Classicists at the “Meet the Grads” Night 2024”
- Ancient Comedy Reading Group
- Classics Society Trip to the Mithraeum in London
“You Asked - We Did”
You may wonder sometimes whether student feedback makes any difference, whether anything really changes. The answer is an emphatic “Yes”! In the lead-up to the next Student-Staff Action Meeting on 31 January (you can find the link to the feedback survey that will be discussed at the meeting itself in last week’s “Classics News”), my colleagues and I would like to remind you of a number of areas where we have made changes and introduced new support opportunities. We have also responded to the acutely felt need to strengthen the sense of belonging by co-organising events with the Classics Society. The photo below highlights just 5 areas where your voice, the Student Voice, made a difference. Thank you!
Classicists at the “Meet the Grads” Night 2024”
The Humanities School Careers Event on Tuesday was a great success according to all the reports we received both from staff and from students who took part. Classics alumnae, such as Megan Wright (now working in the Charity sector) and Hannah Lessiter (working for a Rare Book firm) and current students were central to the success of the event. I asked two of our students, Linnie and Oscar, to write their impressions:
Linnie writes: “On Tuesday the 16th of January, I interviewed alumni of Royal Holloway for a careers event centred around helping humanities students. It was my second year helping out at this event, and both years I’ve seen how useful it’s been for students that chose to attend. The evening followed a brilliant format organised by Louise Ogle and her colleagues; for a duration of 10 minutes, myself or my co-presenter, Mia Cavanagh, would improvise questions to ask the alumni speakers that we thought would be commonly brought up, and then students had the chance to speak in depth to alumni at booths outside the lecture hall for further questions.
As a Classics student, I found it particularly wonderful to interview alumni that shared my degree, which was the case for multiple speakers. Especially useful were their talks on ways classics as a discipline had boosted their employability: this came as a reassurance to students with post-graduation job concerns. Lots of people attended the evening from across the humanities departments, and I managed to get some feedback from some Classics students – who only had positive things to say. Most commonly it was brought up that they liked the experience of being able to talk in person to alumni to ask advice, and that the event opened their eyes to career paths they didn’t know existed – or that were possible for them to pursue.
Personally, it was an incredibly fun night, and I was delighted to accept an interviewing role again. The idea of speaking to alumni in front of a filled lecture theatre can seem a bit daunting – especially with how much improvisation goes into it – but as someone looking to go into teaching it was a valuable night. It was so interesting to see how people’s degrees led them to where they were, particularly the classicists, who were employed in such a variety of fields!”
And Oscar adds: “This event was to help humanities students in looking for a job market to do with a humanities degree. Whilst I was there to help out by pouring drinks, and collect the speakers so that they could have their interviews (on what they do for a living and how they managed to get from their degree to their degree), I managed to talk to the speakers which was incredibly helpful in understanding where to go after my degree in Classics.
Of course, I didn't do this by myself, and I was there to help out with 3 other students, Linnie Serstobojeva, was one of the main interviewers for the event, Holly Workman, who also gave up her free time just as I did, to help out at this event as a runner who did a lot more work than I did as she had more people to take into the interviews. There was another student who does English (Mia Cavanagh) who also worked as an interviewer. All these students knew that this was a worthwhile experience and helping out was a very good experience to do. I can say for myself that the event did give me confidence in finding a job after a university degree. All I can say is that the event was useful for those interested in a future in the humanities department and that all who helped should be given the credit and thanks they deserve in making it as enjoyable as possible for those who attended.”
Make sure you get in touch with the Careers Service! They are located on the Ground Floor of the Emily Wilding Davison Building! And remember to set up your profile on Linkedin if you haven’t done so already.
Ancient Comedy Reading Group
"Hannah Baldwin and Tim Brady would like to announce that the Ancient Comedy Reading Group will begin again this coming week at a new time: Tuesdays at 6pm in International 148. This term we're starting a new author, Terence, and a new play, The Self-Tormentor, so if you've been thinking about coming but haven't wanted to join a story in the middle next Tuesday would be the ideal time to try it out. There will be drinks (wine and juice) and snacks. No need to bring a copy of the play, we have plenty of translations. We look forward to seeing you there!"
Classics Society Trip to the Mithraeum in London
The Classics Society is organising a trip to the Mithraeum in London on 3 February. Don’t miss it! Further details on the Classics Society’ Instagram!
That’s all for this week. I look forward to more student contributions for next week’s issue. I hope you all have a relaxing weekend!
Christos
