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Queen Mary Alumni

Blog

Montage of alumni voices on our blog. Featured are the Singing Dentist, aka Dr Milad Shadrooh, Dilani Selvanathan, Siti Kasim and Matt Kay.

Our graduates have gone on to do a variety of interesting and exciting things throughout their careers and beyond.

Our blog shines a spotlight on the voices of our alumni and friends and on the transformative effect gifts of time and donations from alumni have had on our students and the wider University.

Headshot of alumna, Dr Victoria Grace Walden Alumni profile - Dr Victoria Grace Walden
25 January 2021

(Film Studies PhD, 2017)

The thing I most enjoyed about my PhD was the ever-expanding community it exposed me to, from colleagues and peers at Queen Mary, many of whom I have retained friendships with, to wider academic and professional networks. It gave me the confidence to reach out to institutions working in Holocaust and genocide memory and education to form partnerships that we hope will push forward socio-cultural change. 

Headshot of alumna, Roxy Baker Alumni profile - Roxy Baker
26 January 2021

(History BA, 2016)

In challenging times such as the one we are living through, being able to connect with people is vital. A historical understanding of the Holocaust reminds us of the importance of this, and what types of events could happen and what types of humans we could be if we choose division and radicalism over tolerance, and homogeneity over diversity. 

Headshot of alumnus Bhavin Borkhatria Alumni profile - Bhavin Borkhatria
25 January 2021

(Dentistry BDS, 2015)

I thoroughly enjoy seeing nervous patients and watching them grow in confidence.

Headshot of alumna, Lucy Dear Alumni profile - Lucy Dear
27 January 2021

(Drama BA, 2006)

The variation in the course helped me to explore and identify my voice as an artist and what I care about which has been central to my practice as an applied theatre practitioner ever since. 

Headshot of alumnus Dhanushka Hapuarachchi Alumni profile - Dhan Hapuarachchi
28 January 2021

(Materials Science and Engineering BEng, 2004; Materials Science PhD, 2010)

In my role as Service Delivery Manager: On-Wing Services (Europe) at Rolls-Royce, I am based at London Heathrow airport, close to our operational base, and I lead a team of twenty-four aero engine mechanics and one service operations officer. We have a global planning team which operates 24/7 as the department covers the globe, but my region is mainly Europe.

Headshot of alumnus Aaron West Alumni profile - Aaron West
31 January 2021

(Theoretical Physics BSc, 2017)

LGBTQ+ History Month is first and foremost an opportunity to educate on the issues we have faced and continue to face as a community. While history is in the name, it is all about the present. This is more important than ever, as policy-makers are increasingly swayed by misinformation. LGBTQ+ history month is a great way of reaching and teaching these people to get the change we need and deserve.

Headshot of alumna, Evie Lewis Alumni profile - Evie Lewis
1 February 2021

(English Literature MA, 2019)

My current research is very much informed by and carries on from my MA dissertation. Following on from my research into literary linguistic and formal experimentalism, I am now exploring the limits of discourse and language, and am interested in novels that have silences, gaps, or absences at the centre of their narrative – the expressive potential of this but also its limitations.

Alumni profile - Abby Crawford
7 February 2021

(Law LLB, 2012)

 I grew up with such limited information about the history of the LGBTQ+ community, and I wasn’t ever given the opportunity to learn about the impact and contributions of LGBTQ+ people at school. If we don’t include LGBTQ+ people in our shared history, it essentially erases people from the narrative, and this sends such a strong message to young people that ‘people like you don’t matter’.

Headshot of alumna Charlotte Byrne Alumni profile - Charlotte Byrne
8 February 2021

(Hispanic studies BA, 2013)

There is still so much work to be done. While representation has grown over the last ten years or so, and it’s fantastic to see, I still believe there is a danger of tokenism and queer-baiting across the media... Give us complex trans characters in video games or gay couples in mainstream romance fiction - not a minor queer character to tick boxes, or a shot of a girl/girl kiss in a film trailer that might just be a symbol of a platonic friendship!

Headshot of alumna, Annabelle Sami Alumni profile - Annabelle Sami
1 February 2021

(English and Drama BA, 2016; English Literature MA, 2018)

One of the best things about studying in London, and specifically in the East End, is that I was studying with, and being taught by, a diverse group of people. East London has a rich history of migration and revolutionary resistance which makes it an exciting and inspiring place to live and explore. 

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