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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 alumnus Raymond Poon Alumni profile - Raymond Poon
2 April 2020

(Mechanical Engineering MEng, 2019)

During my first year of University, I attended the University of London Officers’ Training Corps (ULOTC) and underwent military training. I got to see HMS Bulwark and a Royal Marine Landing Craft, which gave me an appreciation of the type of work engineers do to aid the UK’s naval warfare force. I never expected to end up in the defence industry, but I guess my experience in the ULOTC gave me the kick for it.

Headshot of alumna Zsofi Szemerédy Alumni profile - Zsófi Szemerédy
6 April 2020

(History and Film Studies BA, 2015)

I didn’t speak English particularly well when I came here... Queen Mary has given me the language skills and the courage to be confident in my everyday working life... My undergraduate studies were all about building foundations, pretty solid ones at that, to move forward and be able to follow my dreams. My degree truly opened up the world.

Headshot of alumna Emma Hedington Alumni profile - Emma Hedington
17 April 2020

(Medieval History BA, 2010)

I hadn’t necessarily considered the publishing industry as a career path whilst at university, and I wasn’t particularly aware of academic publishing, but I’ve been in this industry ever since... I’ve worked my way up at various companies... I’m pretty sure all my friends are bored of me talking about working with NASA now!

Headshot of alumna Shivani Reddy Alumni profile - Shivani Reddy
10 May 2020

(English and European Law LLB, 2003)

At Fairtrade, I worked on a wide range of issues (fairer prices for banana farmers; public-private partnerships; gender equality in agricultural supply chains; Sustainable Development Goals; modern slavery; post-Brexit trade policy…). After almost four years, I decided that I wanted to see if I could make an impact on people’s lives from inside a large company so I moved to Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP).

Headshot of alumna Neha Patel Alumni profile - Neha Patel
12 May 2020

(Computer Science BSc, 1994)

I am the co-founder of Your999 Limited, an app/platform launched in 2015 for the general public to use in all sorts of emergencies. For example, in response to the global fight against coronavirus, we have put together a resource that people around the world can use to find the most up to date information.

Headshot of alumnus Dr Rizwan Ullah Alumni profile - Dr Rizwan Ullah
27 May 2020

(Oral Biology MSc, 2013)

My time and study at Barts improved me not only from a scholarly point of view, but also helped me to utilise my experiences for the betterment of my students both here in Pakistan and abroad... I  found Barts' facilities, student support and London’s diverse cultural environment made adjusting as an international student very easy.

Headshot of alumnus Ray Canham Alumni profile - Ray Canham
15 May 2020

(Zoology BSc, 1964)

To a large degree, Queen Mary chose me. At the time (1961) admission to university degree programs was far from automatic; only 5% of high school graduates went on to study at universities. When the academic year began, I was delighted to find that the class size was small—14 students; seven male and seven female—all of whom were very compatible despite differences in age and experience.

SMD Students Donor Story: Liz Green
15 September 2019

Elizabeth Green, Pathology with Basic Medical Sciences, 1997

Liz graduated in the late 90s but remains close with Barts and The London and decided to give back to the University in one of our telephone campaigns. She kindly shared many memories of her time here and why she supports today’s students.

 

Headshot of alumni donor Andrew Popperwell Donor story: Andrew Popperwell
15 August 2019

Andrew Popperwell, BSc Physics, 1974

Andy graduated in the 1970s but remains very close with Queen Mary and has been giving back to the University since our first ever telephone fundraising campaign! He kindly shared many memories of his time here and why he supports today’s students.

 

Headshot of alumna Kia Abdullah Alumni profile - Kia Abdullah
22 May 2020

(Computer Science BSc, 2003)

After university, I worked in tech for three years, but my first love won out eventually. I took a 50% pay cut to take a writing role at Asian Woman magazine... since then I've started my own website, Atlas & Boots, and written for publications like The New York Times, The Guardian and The Telegraph, and published a novel with HarperCollins with the next one out in 2020. It’s certainly been an interesting journey!

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