11 minute read
News from alumni
Tamara (Modern Languages, 2011) saw her first solo piece Holocaust Brunch premiered at the arts depot in North Finchley in Autumn 2019. After the premier in London, Tamara took the play to Vancouver, where the characters in the play lived and where Tamara herself was born and raised. English audiences had the opportunity to see the play in January at The Place Theatre in Bedford. An original aspect of the show is that bagels were served during the performance – hence the ‘brunch’ of the title. Her story, which Tamara calls ‘a dark comedy’, concerns Isaac and Bluma Tischler, the Jewish grandparents of a close friend, who left a memoir and oral history detailing their lives in pre-war Poland and their subsequent journey through post-war Germany to Canada.
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Marga Jann published the first story in her spy thriller trilogy
Marga (Visiting Scholar at Lucy in 2013-14) has written a spy story The Architect: Four Countries Four Faces, released in September by Arrow Gate Publishing. Against a backdrop of international intrigue and intense spiritual warfare, architect Marga Jann takes us on a gripping journey through a quartet of academic assignments - with much more at stake than her professorial mission. Based at Cambridge, she unwittingly finds herself embroiled in a dangerous and diplomatically-sensitive battle between MI6/CIA operatives and Saudi Intelligence. The narrative takes place, in part, at Wolfson and Lucy Cavendish (and starts at the Porters’ Lodge). There will be two more books to follow.
Elizabeth Lowe launched her ‘no nasties’ e-commerce store
College alumna, Elizabeth Lowe (Pharmacology, 2010) founded Naked Company, an e-commerce store that specialises in everyday cosmetics without nasty ingredients. After her studies, Elizabeth worked for several years in the pharmaceutical R&D sector. She became interested in the composition of everyday cosmetics and became particularly concerned about the ingredients and excessive packaging of toothpaste. The heart of our ethos is to “Take the Nasties Out” and to reduce packaging waste. So far, her company has launched a healthier, ecofriendly alternative to toothpaste, Dental Crush toothpaste tablets. The response to the launch has been exceptionally positive. The website launched in September 2019 and her ‘Naked Company’ is now stocking their products in stores in Ireland.
Usha Akella curated a display of 24 poems by 24 South Asian Diaspora poets
Usha (Creative Writing Mst. 2019), co-director of Matwaala Southern Asian Poets Festival and Poetry editor of Lucy Writers, has created a wall of 24 poems by 24 South Asian Diaspora poets at the Irving Museum and Archives (Dallas, TX) in collaboration with ThinkIndia Foundation for Smithsonian’s Beyond Bollywood Project. Usha Akella and Pramila Venkateswaran (co-director of Matwaala) curated the poems from poets across the USA. The wall is a beautiful testimony to Usha’s excellent work and communal vision. Usha Akella launched the first South Asian Poetry Festival in the US in 2015. The goal is to increase the visibility of the diaspora poets in the country. She conceived the poetry wall to reflect the immense talent in the community and perhaps, this is the first time such a display has happened in any museum.
Jaskiran (Development Studies, 2012) saw her PhD thesis being published as a monograph by Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group) this summer. The book is titled English Language in India: A Dichotomy between Economic Growth and Inclusive Growth. It examines the relationship between the English language and growth – economic and inclusive – in India. It explores why English continues to be the language of aspiration long after Independence. With the second largest English-speaking population in the world today, India is testimonial to how a linguistic legacy continues to cast a long shadow on its contemporary discourse in the economic arena.
Gabriela Frost shortlisted for the BBC Student Journalism Award
Gabriela Frost (European, Latin American & Comparative Literatures & Cultures, 2018) has been shortlisted for the prestigious BBC Radio 4 Today Programme Student Journalism Awards, under the category of ‘Criticism’. This is the second year the Today Programme has held the competition, which looks to recognise the best journalism written by students in universities across the UK. Categories range from Student Journalist of the Year to Student Programme of the Year, usually with no more than five to three applicants shortlisted for each one. The Today Programme attracts a high intake of entries every year, with the Student Critic of the Year being one of the most applied for categories in the whole competition. Gabriela has done exceedingly well to be shortlisted in a year where the judges have been ‘hugely impressed by the high quality and variety of the entries received’. Gabriela is one of three applicants shortlisted for the Student Critic of the Year 2019 award.
Dr Yang Yang donated 1500 disposable medical use face masks in the battle against Coronavirus
Yang Yang, (Education, 2007), generously donated 1500 disposable medical use face masks to help students in the battle against Coronavirus. This kind gesture came at a difficult time for many of the College’s students who were unable to leave after the University’s closure. Although a mask isn’t a guarantee you won’t get or transmit a virus, they are effective at stopping droplets, which is the main way coronavirus is transmitted. So for the students living in College, wearing a mask will reduce the chance of the disease being passed on. Support staff around College will also be protected and will make use of the masks themselves should they have to enter College buildings.
Prof Dr Norfilza Mohd Mokhtar promoted to leading role for the National University of Malaysia
Norfilza (PhD Clinical Medicine, 2001) has been promoted to Leader of Cluster for Health and Advanced Medicine for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (also known as the National University of Malaysia) starting 1st May 2020 until 30 April 2023. Her role is to lead one of the five niche clusters for the University. Her cluster covers 4 faculties (Medicine, Health Sciences, Dentistry and Pharmacy) and a single research institute, where there are some overlapping researchers from other faculties such as Faculty of Technology Sciences. Norfilza’s main role is to identify talents and translate the research to the community and to encourage interdisciplinary research to produce high quality outcomes. She has been chosen among hundreds of lecturers in the health and medicine fraternity.
Norfilza comments:“I dedicate my ability to communicate and interact with different levels of researchers to my experience at Lucy Cavendish College. At the time I was there the activities handled by the College encouraged people from different backgrounds to treat each other equally and respect each other. I treasure all the experiences I had in Cambridge.”
Sun-Hee Park founded EALO, the East Asian Lawyers Organisation
Sun-Hee (Law, 1993) founded the organisation to raise awareness about the lack of East Asians moving to senior positions, to contribute to changing the current reality and to provide them with a platform or safe space. The legal profession should reflect the society that it serves. Some diversity indicators can be hidden, but race is not one of them. Diversity and inclusion are topical in most organisations, not only because it is the right thing do, but because there is mounting evidence that having a diverse workforce translates to better staff engagement, happier clients and higher profits. EALO is open to anyone in the legal profession who identifies as East Asian, whether they are lawyers, support staff or students. Allies and sponsors within and outside the legal sector are also welcome.
Dr Jenny Hall published on innovation and tradition in the Kyoto textile industry
Jenny Hall (Archaeology and Anthropology, 1994) published in February her book titled ‘Japan beyond the Kimono’ through Bloomsbury Academic. In the ancient city of Kyoto, contemporary artisans and designers are using heritage techniques and traditional clothing aesthetics to reinvent wafuku (Japanese clothing, including kimono) for modern life. Japan Beyond the Kimono explores these shifts through case studies, highlighting developments in the Kyoto fashion industry such as its integration of digital weaving and printing techniques and the influence of social media on fashion distribution systems.
Ruby Pillai won a start-up competition with eco-friendly tech start-up iWarranty
Ruby (MSt in Entrepreneurship, 2018) is a rising star and entrepreneur. She won €150,000 at the 9th edition of Fit4Start with her eco-friendly tech start-up iWarranty. The idea behind it is for users to keep all warranties in their smartphones, in the hope retailers will be on board to help address the problem of e-product waste. Fit4Start is Luxembourg’s leading start-up acceleration programme and also one of the main start-up events of the year in the Grand Duchy. Ruby has also started the Accelerate Cambridge programme run by the Judge Business School, which is a three-month programme combining entrepreneurship training, regular coaching and mentoring.
New short story by award-winning writer Annabel Banks
Alumna Annabel Banks’ short story ‘Exercises in Control’ was published in January 2020 by Influxpress. Annabel is an award-winning writer of poetry and prose. Her work can be found in such places as The Manchester Review, Litro, The Stockholm Review, Under the Radar and 3:AM, and was included in Eyewear’s Best New British & Irish Poets 2016. Her writing has received multiple nominations for the Pushcart Prize, with further nominations for the Queen’s Ferry Press Best Short Fictions, Blazevox’s Bettering American Poetry, Best News Poets [US] and the Derringer Awards and was longlisted for the Royal Academy/Pindrop Short Story Award. In 2019, her debut poetry collection, DTR (Broken Sleep) was nominated for the Forward Prize in two categories.
New poster displays in Warburton Hall feature alumnae who are making a positive impact on society.
Hollie Wells (English, 2016) Hollie graduated with a Starred First, coming top of the English Tripos for 2019. As Editor of student magazine The Cavendish Chronicle, Hollie launched the Cavendish Chronicle Creative Prize to celebrate the best poetry, short fiction and visual art the College community has to offer. She has supported the Admissions teams in College and the University in their outreach work, and was involved in our highly successful telephone campaign to raise funds for student support.
Bonnie Samuyiwa (English, 2017) Bonnie has completed an internship with the Cabinet Office, and has been shortlisted for the ‘Government, Politics and the Public Sector Award’ in the Student Social Mobility Awards. Bonnie was recognised as one of the UK’s Top 100 most outstanding undergraduate students from an African/Afro-Caribbean background, and she was invited to a reception at 10 Downing Street. In January 2019, she was made an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society. She hopes to pursue a career in international relations.
Karen Thomas (PhD Public Health and Primary Care, 2017) Karen is a Chartered Physiotherapist. Her PhD research focuses on the treatment of Post-Stroke Fatigue in the community. She won an award for Best Abstract (copresented with fellow Lucian, Chloe Gamlin) at the NMAHP conference, and this research was published in the British Medical Journal. As Lower Boat Captain for the Lucy Cavendish Boat Club, she contributed to W2’s success in gaining the first set of Lucy Cavendish blades in May Bumps. She was on two winning Varsity teams in 2019; the Cambridge University Yacht Club and the Cambridge University Sailing Club. Karen is also Chair of the British Universities Sailing Association. Oyindamola Johnson (Master of Law, 2018) Oyin released her debut album - From A Different Cloth last year as ‘Ms Eva Johnson’. She is a spoken word poet, musician, actress and dancer. Passionate about social reform, education and equality, Oyin intends to continue her practice as a dualqualified lawyer making an impact in technology law and establishing a performing arts school for children.
Holly Elgood-Curtis (MPhil American History, 2018) Holly raised over £1,000 for local breast cancer charities by organising a special Formal Hall during Cambridge Pink Week. She was the Welfare Officer for our Students’ Union and also worked for The Times on their Top Graduate Employers guide. Next year, Holly will join the NHS Graduate Training Scheme.
Emma Sims (HSPS, 2017) Emma was Co-President of our Students’ Union in 2018-19. She played on the Lucy Cavendish and Hughes Netball Team and she wrote for the student magazine, The Cavendish Chronicle. She was a member of the Clare Politics Society and the Cambridge University International Development Society. She was also involved with Womcam (the Women’s Campaign). She was the Jackie Ashley Prize for Best Results in Politics in 2018. Emma is working in publishing and freelance journalism, and will soon start on a consultancy graduate scheme.
Emma Hopkins (Land Economy, 2017) Emma was Co-President of our Students’ Union for 2018-19 and is the College Representative for the Foodbank Society and the Islamic Society. During the summer, she is volunteering with Strive Recruitment to facilitate social mobility within the legal profession, before starting a training contract with Herbert Smith Freehills. She was recently awarded the Emmeline Pankhurst Prize for contribution to College life.
