OSA Unforgettables Alumni Magazine 2018
GENERATION Z EDITION
In this Issue: pg.10
GENERATION Z We look at what being part of Generation Z means for us as young people, what challenges we face and what skills we have to offer.
pg.4 OSA UPDATE Find out what we've been up to since you were here! Discover our new OSA Inspires and OSA Mentors programmes.
pg.23 ALUMNI NEWS
pg.29 STAFF NEWS
GEN Z The digital generation
CONTENTS
2
In this issue
4
OSA Update
6
OSA Inspires
7
OSA Mentors
8
OSA Foundation
11
Generation Z
13
Tech of the Future
15
Instagram vs Snapchat
19
UMTTR & Mental Health
23
Life at Oxford
25
Be The Vibe Update
29
Staff News
Welcome and OSA Update 2017 was a big year for OSA! Last year we were delighted to be able to offer our Discover Courses for 13 and 14 year olds, first introduced in 2016, across all sessions of the summer school. This increased the overall number of places we were able to offer on our courses to 345 over 3 sessions. Discover courses cover four areas, Business, Medicine, Technology, and Writing, and are designed to give an overview of specialisms within these fields. They provide a comprehensive introduction to a subject on their own, and are also perfectly placed to provide a stepping stone to one of our more specialised courses for 15-18 year olds. There were some other exciting changes to the summer programme too, with new masterclasses and a new trip taking place for our 2017 students! First up were our new masterclass options – What It Means To Be Great, which covered different aspects of leadership, and what it means to be a ‘great’ person, Failure To Success, which discussed how we can harness
our mistakes and failures, and turn them into learning experiences, and knowledge with which to go on and succeed, and finally Conquering Happiness, in which a local Oxford philosopher explained what it truly means to ‘be happy,’ and outlined strategies to reach this universal goal. We also got the chance to visit Cambridge, known affectionately to many of our staff as ‘The Other Place,’ due to its long-standing rivalry with Oxford. Here we took a chauffeured punt down the river - giving the students an opportunity to see how the professionals steer the boat! – and explored the town and its many colleges, including a personal tour of Jesus College for interested students by an alumna staff member! The trip was a great success, and we’re already looking forward to returning with our 2018 students to discover more of Cambridge! This was also the year that we launched the Oxford Scholastica Academy Foundation, in order to support our
amazing alumni in their ambitions to change the world. The Foundation offers the opportunity for advice, publicity, and funding for alumni projects which aim to make the world a better place in some way. We were delighted to be able to fund two projects in our initial round – you can read more from both Gemma and Noa later in the magazine – and have since been able to offer funding to four more incredible projects by the end of 2017. We look forward to being able to extend the impact of the Foundation even further in 2018, and hope to be able to support many more projects! Do get in touch if you have an idea that you’d like help with, or if you wish to support any of the projects we have previously funded. As another element of our mission to change the world for young people, it was great to welcome our first ever scholarship
students last year. The OSA Scholarship programme is a new venture aimed at giving local students the opportunity to experience one of our summer schools. The pilot programme was a huge success, and we are looking forward to welcoming more local students this year! As you can see, it’s been an amazing year, but we’re not slowing down in 2018 either! We’ve taken on a fourth building, Cherwell House, which brings our total student numbers this year to an incredible 460, and have a number of exciting projects in the works. The main one you’ll be hearing about is OSA Inspires, a collection of resources to help you discover what direction your future could take, and learn from real students and young professionals what university life and beyond is really like! Read on to find out more…
S H A N N O N M I L L E R - Community and Marketing Manager Shannon studied Classics at Oxford University where she was also a choral scholar and college rower. Her role is to support students and parents form the moment they sign up, making sure our students feel comfortable before the summer school, have the best time on it and keep in touch with everyone after. If she's not singing or rowing, she can usually be found practising her dancing, running, cooking, or wishing there were more hours in a day!
OSA Inspires We know that finding out what you want to do in life can be a daunting task. That's why we've created OSA Inspires, our new career and future discovery site. OSA Inspires gives you the detailed information to Discover a new career, the opportunity to Explore what it is like working in that career, and the tools to help you Apply. You can check it out here: www.oxfordscholastica.com/osa-inspires
OSA Mentors We really mean it when we say that Scholastica is not just for summer, it's for life. A summer at Oxford Scholastica can have a big impact on our students' future goals and aspirations. Many are keen to continue exploring, planning and preparing for a successful future, so we developed OSA Mentors to help. OSA Mentors is an ongoing programme of coaching. Students will be matched with one of our team and will have Skype mentoring sessions on a regular basis to help them to become clearer about their future, more confident and more likely to succeed in their ambitions. OSA Mentors is designed to give students greater: - Confidence about their skills, knowledge and potential - Awareness of the possibilities and opportunities they could go on to achieve - Clarity about exactly which university, course and career path to choose - Ambition to stretch and challenge themselves - Motivation to succeed
Students who go through the OSA Mentors Programme are more likely to know where they want to go, and succeed in their ambitions. If you would like to discuss OSA Mentors further we would be pleased to arrange a call. Please contact Photis (info@oxfordscholastica.com).
OSA Foundation As part of our ongoing commitment to helping our students be incredible citizens of the world, we want to do something to help you, by offering a chance for ongoing advice, publicity, and funding for things you go on to do. Our Foundation has set aside a maximum of ÂŁ8,000 this year to support our alumni with projects they are involved with. Have you set up a charitable project since graduating from OSA? Are you involved in a charity that you're passionate about? Apply on the website at: www.oxfordscholastica.com/oxford-scholasticafoundation
orted p p u ve s ' e w cts r! Proje so fa
ALUMNI UPDATES Josse Gee
Huzaifa Zafar Karan Nair
2015, Psychology
2015, Young Doctor
Since leaving Scholastica, I graduated high school in Los Angeles and begun attending Northeastern University in Boston. I'm majoring in Biology with the intent to work in the Biotechnology industry. I'm currently loving my Biochemical Toxicology class where I learn about pollutants and the different chemicals that impact humans or animals. I'm also just loving exploring Boston since it's a city with over 250,000 college students, it has never-ending fun opportunities for a college student.
Huzaifa is now in his third year of medical school studying for his undergraduate degree at the Aga Khan University (Pakistan’s most prestigious medical school). He has just finished his ophthalmology rotation, and has now started on the ENT rotation. A month ago he also performed a sternotomy so is very busy but enjoying studying medicine for real!
2017, Enterprise Karan has now begun studying Business and Aviation at Monash University, Australia. Whilst waiting for his university course to start he did internships at Wyndham Hotel Group and with Coca-Cola.
ALUMNI UPDATES Carmen Colomina 2015, Young Doctor Scholastica helped Carmen confirm that she wanted to study medicine, particularly in English. To achieve her goal, Carmen worked for her Cambridge Profficiency Certificate and became fluent enough to pursue her dream. She is now studying the International Medicine program at the Universidad de Navarra in Spain.
Ahmed Panjwani
Sidney Molina
2017, Young Lawyer 2017, Discover Medicine Ahmed is now running the Entrepreneurship Society at his school and has been preparing applications to UK universities.
Sidney is now in her Freshman year of high school and is working hard as a student councilor and as part of the National Honor Society, not to mention He keeps in touch with his aiming for the top GPA OSA friends and the SS1 she can get. St George's crew had a skype conference call Outside of work she plays back in September! volleyball and softball for her school and is returning back to visit Oxford in the summer of 2018!
by Tim Muggeridge
GENERATION Z
Generation Z (also called iGen or Gen Z) is the generation that follows Millenials. Jason Dorsey, a leading speaker on Millenials and Gen Z, defines Generation Z as anyone born after 1996.
You’ve all probably heard of Millenials. The new, young generation that came of age around the turn of the century and has revolutionised the way we work, the way we live. Through their love of flexible working hours, technological dependency, and social-media sharing, they have frustrated those older than them, yet created more success and diversity in business and society than ever before. But here we are now in 2018, and Millenials are becoming old news. Think about it. If Millenials are those who ‘came of age’ around the year 2000, then the older part of that generation will soon be approaching forty years old! Not exactly young anymore are they? Mainstream media have tended to box young people in with the Millenial label, but there is a new generation emerging: Generation Z.
He says that whilst Millenials grew up alongside the development of the internet, Generation Z have never known a time without it. They will never remember a time before the internet existed. Whilst Millenials began their working lives dealing with the fall out of the Great Recession in 2008, Generation Z grew up in its shadow. It shaped their childhood. Then think of the iPhone (first released in 2007). Could you name a more revolutionary invention of the last twenty years? It has been present with Gen Z right from their childhood. I was born in 1995, so I’m technically one of the last Millenials, and I can confirm this for you because I still remember my school days with flip-phones and slide-phones. Sharing an mp3 file via Bluetooth was wizardry to me. Then the iPhone came along and suddenly you could stream songs to your phone.
You no longer needed an iPod (remember them? No? Gosh I’m old…) because all your iTunes music is already on your phone! Most of you will have started Secondary/Middle school already owning a smartphone. But why are we talking about all this here in our Alumni magazine I hear you ask? Well, because you, our alumni, are Gen Z. Now that we’re in our 5th year of OSA, many of our older alumni are now moving into the world of work and university. It got us thinking. Very soon it will be you running things, your decisions shaping the future of our planet. You are some of the very first of Gen Z to move into the workforce, and as a new generation moving into adult life you will bring new perspectives and ideas, which will be fantastic for society. However, you will also face distinct challenges that generations before you have not faced.
The fallout from the recession, global terrorism, climate change: these issues will not go away lightly. And so we want to help. We always say OSA isn’t just for summer, it’s for life, and we really mean it. We want to give you the tools to succeed way beyond your summer experience with us. And so we’re exploring Gen Z; exploring how you can make the most of your technological abilities and natural flair; exploring how we deal with problems of social media and its impact on mental health, and exploring how you can change the world. Tim Muggeridge OSA Inspires Executive
by Kiara Boboff
THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE FUTURE
A constant stream of notifications bombards our everyday digital lives. News headlines, Snaps, iMessages, calls, and updates overwhelm our screens. Beyond signaling the arrival of an email, these pressing alerts highlight the immense lack of communication between apps. While residing on the same bright display, applications vehemently avoid cooperation resulting in far too many banners on our lockscreens. These contemporary machines are conveniently inconvenient and inconveniently convenient. This juxtaposition is explained by Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, as “We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.” Regardless of our qualms, technology powers forward but user capability cannot progress without the streamlining of app cooperation. In ten years prosthetic limbs,
autonomy, currency exchange, space exploration, and digital glasses will make headlines and push boundaries. But what about the everyday text message? The Instagram post? The quick selfie? The world might lack flying cars in ten years but our everyday relationship with our phones will differ vastly. Right now user efficacy is weighed down by organizational strains such as small monitor sizes, single screen displays, poor app-to-app syncing, and clunky interfaces—just to name a few. The common frustration of displaying side-byside screens, such as homework and notes for a student, presents a rather archaic design considering the vast range of information available on the device. Ironically, our devices store and present all the materials we need yet sabotage our efficiency through excessive separation between applications. For example, weather and calendar applications should exist in tandem. Raining today? Probably best to reschedule that outdoor picnic. Instead of scrolling, tapping, and squinting in search of our calendar, the weather forecast and our plans should collaborate. This very basic example leads to questions
regarding why moving between apps requires more steps than cooking dinner. In the next ten years, our smartphones, computers, and tablets will ditch individual apps for a single, comprehensive platform. With the rise in AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities, our devices will anticipate our searches, bookings, and messages. Our devices will learn our habits so the parking meter is prepaid as we park outside of Safeway. Just like when the screen, keyboard, and mouse were integrated into a sole laptop computer, our apps for fitness, weather, notes, shopping, and texting will coexist. Envision a companion to our lives, equipped to help instead of frustrate. Companies are already moving towards this level of cooperation as FaceBook purchased Instagram and Amazon purchased Whole Foods—just to mention a few. Pesky forgotten passwords, awkward picture cropping, redundant information, and three different music platforms will be nothing but a distant memory as technology molds to our lifestyles. Hopefully in ten years, instead of fifty notifications, we will just receive one with all the information we need.
Kiara Boboff 2015, Computer Science Kiara took our Computer Science Course in 2015. Hailing from San Fransisco and Silicon Valley, she has always had a keen interest in technology and is currently finishing up High School. She's hoping to continue her passion for Computer Science at College and has received an early offer for this from Stanford University.
VS In the battleground of social media apps, two new giants are forming with a rivalry that envies that of the traditional Facebook vs Twitter. They offer many similar features, but have each attracted a following of devout users who swear by one app or the other. Having conducted a Facebook poll, we asked one OSA Alumna from each side to write about why they preferred one app over the other.
Snapchat
Founded: 2010
Founded: 2011
Owned by: Facebook
Owned by: Snap Inc.
Location of HQ: San Francisco
Location of HQ: Los Angeles
Daily Users: 500,000,000
Daily Users: 187,000,000
Influential Instagram It must have been one ordinary day in 2013 when the Instagram wave also hit our school. It looked so innocent when I installed it as a first app on my brand new phone. Ever since, now actually for half a decade, spending endless hours on Instagram became part of my everyday life. I have seen it change considerably in that period of time, maybe that is what makes it that exciting. The inventors are always trying to improve and bring new things into horizons. Instagram live and Instagram stories now allow the world to see their favorite Instagrammers not only through the perfectly edited posts but also in the magic of live moments. Surprisingly, Instagram is kind of a world on its own. It allows a perfect chance to transform a not so perfect life into an aesthetically pleasing feed that at least brings a taste of perfection. It is actually much harder than it looks to make all of the photos show similar colourful shades but that is when another apps come into use. VSCO cam has always been my favourite because it makes it possible to copy edits and quickly transfer them to another picture with ease andÂ
swiftness. To really ensure that my photos compliment each other I also use UNUM and upload the pictures next to each other exactly as they are going to be on my Instagram. The unique discoverability of Instagram makes it really stand out as well. It makes it almost effortless to research the best restaurants or other spots to see nearby. Hashtags and place tags also allow your account to grow quickly and successfully. The boomerang feature on Instagram is also incredibly popular and along with the easy use of hands free video continuous to amaze the users. Since 2012 people have been highlighting multiple special occasions on their Instagram profiles and its amazing to look back. This is even better because it doesn't only allow you to reminisce about your own memories but also about someone else’s. This way it is easier to get to know people before you actually start talking with them, or at least see the spark of their interests and their personality. This social platform also causes long distance friendships and make it possible to talk with amazing people from the other side of the world. Surely, there has been a lot of special moments designed to be captured on camera but one of my favourites had to obviously be my two weeks spend at Oxford Scholastica. They were full of Instagram worthy occasions, which I want to cherish forever. Instagram is perfect for creating a collage full of your adventurous journeys, your favourite food or just simply outfit of the day. And what‘s even more amazing- it will last. A picture is really worth a thousand words!
Danka Tesarova Originally from Slovakia, Danka attended our Young Doctors’ Academy in summer 2017. Always a friendly face around St George’s, and making everyone laugh with her incredible array of facial expressions, she was definitely the most prolific documenter of her time at OSA with loads of fabulous pictures of Oxford. You can find her on instagram to check them out at @ts.danka13
Sharing on Snapchat When it comes to social media we all tend to think about every single app that we use. But the main question is, which one is preferred? The two apps that are known for capturing pictures and sharing with friends are Snapchat and Instagram, but which one is better? I believe that Snapchat is preferred when it comes to staying in contact with everyone. We tend to always want to record or picture the event that’s currently happening to us, and we share it with everyone so that they could experience what we are also seeing. Let’s not forget the news outlets that are accessible on the app. These news outlets allow us to stay updated with what’s going on around the world from CNN, National Geographic and much more. In addition to that, the new feature of the Map, which might I add is pretty cool, especially after Oxford Scholastica. Now I can always remember my friends and see where they are around the world. So those are the reasons why I think snapchat is pretty cool. As for Snapchat, I tend to use Snapchat a lot when it comes to staying in contact with my friends. I’d send the weirdest posts to them and update them on my different and weird culture and life! And it’s really fun when you can message each other with funny faces and captions! On Instagram I tend to use it more to show my photography skills!
Jasmine Ridley Jasmine was also one of our 2017 Young Doctors’ Academy cohort, and is one of the stars of our Young Doctors’ Academy video with her fabulous anecdotes about lessons! Particularly remembered for her happy, caring manner, whether dealing with patients, or just chatting to other students and making everyone feel welcome, Jasmine was a big contributor to the St George’s ‘family’!
by Noa Donvan
MENTAL HEALTH
My interest in mental health began several years ago when a friend took his own life. Prior to this event, I didn’t really understand the complexities of the brain and the ability that someone’s mind has to turn against itself and create very destructive thoughts. Because of this, I decided to look more into mental health and suicide. I wanted to understand what made people think these thoughts and why they were thinking them. It was through this that I learned that mental illness touches everyone, whether it’s through their own experiences, or through the experiences of a friend or family member. Mental illness rates have rapidly increased in the past several years and many experts believe this may be linked to the use of social media. According to the BBC, “Two studies involving more than 700 students
found that depressive symptoms, such as low mood and feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness, were linked to the quality of online interactions. Researchers found higher levels of depressive symptoms among those who reported having more negative interactions… Reasons for this, they suggested, include cyberbullying, having a distorted view of other people’s lives, and feeling like time spent on social media is a waste.” As a young person in today’s society who is fluent in social media, I can say from my own experiences that, while social media has its perks, like keeping connected with my Oxford Scholastica friends, it also has many downsides. I have felt the extreme pressure that comes with posting the perfect picture; one where I look skinny and pretty and come up with a good enough caption to entertain my followers. I, like many other young women around the world, have scrolled through my feed looking at pictures of beautiful girls that I feel the need to compare myself to, thus contributing to my feeling less confident, sometimes even inadequate.
Thankfully, during the last two years, I have worked with a nonprofit organization called UMTTR (“You Matter”), which was started by the mother and close friends of the friend who took his own life just a few years ago. This organization is run by teens for teens, with fundraisers, restaurant events, and pick up basketball games. The goal is to inform ourselves and our friends about mental illness; help dispel the stigma; shed light on the five signs that could point to what depression looks like so that we can help ourselves or our friends when they are in need. I have learned many life lessons during my time at UMTTR, ones that I will take with me everywhere. UMTTR inspired me to let people know that it’s okay to talk about controversial issues. It’s where I found my activist voice, a voice that I now want to give others. A voice highlighting UMTTR’s motto: always remember that you matter.
Noa Donvan, 2016, Young Doctor
Mental health is a real challenge we face, both as Gen Z, and as a society. Open accounts, like Noa's, of mental health problems are crucial to help us tackle these issues head on, and raise awareness about mental health. If you'd like to support UMTTR, you can donate through the following link: DONATE HERE http://umttr.org/donate-2/
ALUMNI UPDATES Christopher Holman-Bissegger
Adrian Snell
2016, Young Lawyer
After Oxford Scholastica I started the IB-programme and completed with a bilingual diploma. After finishing I still was pretty unsure of what I wanted to do and I was initially thinking about applying to UK universities but I realised that studying engineering in Trondheim, Norway at NTNU was what I really wanted. Although my plans for the future were pretty much set, I was still uncertain if I was ready for the University life, I therefore decided to take a gap year, following my creative passion. As many from Scholastica 2015 probably remember, I was labelled the house DJ, due to my passion for music, so this year I have been studying Sound&Lighting at a professional level, at a school up in northern Norway. I've also set up a company where I work for larger productions, for both company events and artists, and I'm hoping that I can keep this company active parallel to my studies when i begin in Trondheim this autumn. Although Sound and especially lighting is a huge passion of mine, I have decided that I probably will not be working in such an intense field for a long time, so I have especially looked into engineering degrees that include acoustics and the like, so that I am ensured work for the future in case my impulsive brain decides (again) to change its mind about my core passion!
I am now in Honours Cell and Molecular Biology at Concordia University. It's a lot of memorization, but learning about what makes everyone work is very interesting to me. One day I hope to be a doctor, or a researcher, using my knowledge to make the world a slightly better place! Apart from being a wonderful experience with many fond memories, I believe that Oxford Scholastica enriched me as a person and allowed me to learn more about myself and where I want to be in life. The tutors were great and knowledgeable, and it was fantastic not only to study, but to visit the iconic places around Oxford and take part in many activities.
2015, Engineering
ALUMNI UPDATES Sofie Klevstrand
Xin Zhou
Thais Blanco
2016, Young Lawyer
2015, Computer Science
2015, Young Doctor
After almost two years I still stand by what I said about OSA being the best two weeks of my life. I’ll be graduating high school this summer, and next year I’ll attend a type of college with no formal type of education. Even though you don’t receive formal education it’s a good way to spend a gap year, earning some experience, getting to know yourself better and meeting new friends. Currently I’m working at a local coffee shop, saving some money for the following year.
After attending Oxford Scholastica in 2015, Xin decided to spend his university years in Britain. He is now studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Management at Imperial College London. Xin always prioritised projects over school. Before attending university, he won prizes in a large number of robotics competitions, started a programming team, published iPhone games and also worked on other technical projects. Now after studying at Imperial for over a year, he has his name on the Dean’s List of Academic Excellence, won the business prize at a Microsoft Hackathon and is ready to turn his passion for technology into a profession.
Thais has started university and is currently studying Medicine at the Universidad del Norte in Colombia. She is studying hard for her basic cycle exams so that she can move on to the clinical cycle. Outside of work she has adopted three pups!! It's safe to say all of us at Scholastica HQ are dead jealous. One day we'll get a Scholastica dog... (Jamie...?)
Alumni News Life at Oxford Odessa Ng So, Oxford or you-know-where-which-beginswith-a-C? It’s a thing, we just don’t name ‘The Other Side in public; if you can’t help it, at least tune it down to a whisper. That’s the big question for many people when they apply. But for me, it was a no-brainer. Why, you ask? Because three years ago, Oxford Scholastica had made this place feel like home, blessing me with the most joyful two weeks of summer, and lasting friendships. And three years later, my memory of Oxford’s charm remains unalloyed: the familiar, cheerful buzz of Cornmarket Street, the wisps of aroma wafting from burritos and Thai food, and Nandos on St George street – where the entire OSA group would crash at for dinners, the river where we punted, the evening walks past Malmaison and the Mound, next to which we watched Romeo and Juliet outdoors in a romantic shower of rain during camp, the warm, cosy atmosphere in the Covered Market (where Jamie and Tim, amongst others, brought us for Moo Moo’s milkshakes)… the list goes on. So when I applied for uni, there was no hesitance – my heart knew it belongs here. I was so eager to be back, all because of OSA. Three years down the line and I’m a student labouring, I mean, studying, in the Land of Dreaming Spires. And yes, it’s just as you think – life is exhausting and busy. I get
tutes (affectionate shorthand for ‘tutorials’) twice a week and optional lectures which I may hop to if I’ve gotten out of bed by then. Aha, you picked it up. I haven’t mentioned the Big E word… Essays! I did have to write an essay during my two weeks at OSA, something on Human Rights, I remember. Funny to mention it, because now I’m actually smack bam in the middle of my Constitutional Law course reading about Human Rights too. Unlike OSA though, it’s two essays a week, not the other way around! OSA is like a tiny, much more relaxing microcosm of Oxford. But despite the great workload, it is also most rewarding, and thrilling. When I’m not writing my law essays and ploughing through my never-ending reading listts, I visit the shooting range with the uni’s Rifle Club, hoping to score a few bulls-eyes. Then, on Wednesdays and Fridays night 11.45pm till 1am the next day (well beyond OSA’s curfew, Jamie ought to extend it solely for the purposes of ice-hockey), I play ice-hockey, unintentionally providing my fellow teammates ample amusement as they chuckle at my awkward penguin-like gait on ice. I’m failing pathetically at keeping up my “Gym Daily” new year resolution, (surprise surprise), but when I get too frustrated with work I do a little kickboxing in the Gym. Tuesdays 10pm
we gather and destress with Tea and Toasties in the Junior Common Room. And just like OSA, we also have our own Movie Nights, and talent show. And comparatively, just as good. ‘Oriel Fridays’ is a massive hit – students from our college all head down to the College Bar for a pint and settle down comfortably on the couches to watch some amazing talent unfold on stage. The bar is also where we host our ‘bops’ every fortnight – costumed parties with a theme, arranged by our enthusiastic Entz (entertainment) team. The most recent one was themed “Under the Sea”, and someone taped cucumbers to their arms and forehead and pretended to be a sea cucumber. My college husband transformed himself into an octopus by tying six pieces of dangling clothing around his waist and waved his arms fanatically. Some just went topless, with a sign around their necks: “Shipwrecked!!” Aside from showing off college grounds to friends from elsewhere and running out to the kebab van on Broad Street at 2am for a scrumptious midnight snack, one of the things I enjoy most here is being invited to other colleges for Formal Hall, for which the hosts studying in that college must wear their subfuscs – the black gown that is the official attire for exams, matriculation and graduation ceremonies. Guests have to dress up nicely too. Out of 38 colleges I’ve so far ticked off 8. Good progress, if you ask me! At some point I’m going to re-live one of my favourite OSA memories and go picnicking with my friends. P.S. Since you’ve read all the way till here, I’ve decided I like you enough to share with you a tiny tip. Rumour has it that St Anne’s and Teddy Hall boast Michelin Star chefs. But here’s my tip to you. Whatever is said
out there, just remember as a Golden Rule of Thumb: Oriel’s desserts are top-notch. So if you ever find yourself applying here…you know where to go.
Odessa was on our Young Lawyer's Academy in 2015 and is now studying Law at Oriel College, Oxford.
Be The Vibe Jewellery: One year on Gemma Postill
Last year we donated ÂŁ600 to support Gemma's non-profit, Be the Vibe Jewelry. Since we last spoke, Be the Vibe has raised over $6,000 for not one, but TWO rainwater harvesting systems in Rwanda. Read more about Gemma's success below.
Be The Vibe Jewelry has had quite a year of growth since starting in September of 2016. Be the Vibe is a not-for-profit created by Gemma and Anna Postill that sells handmade jewelry made by Oxford Scholastica alumna, Gemma Postill. All profits go towards building Sustainable Rainwater Harvesting Systems in East Africa. This year Be The Vibe generated enough net profits to build 2 rainwater harvesting Systems in East African communities. The result is that every day over 1000 East Africans can now safely access clean water for washing, drinking, and cooking. This focus this year was on trying new jewelry designs and improving online sales through marketing and social media presence. They have used their Instagram account (@bethevibejewelry) and their Facebook page to connect with customers, keep their clientele updated, and share their designs. They have also redesigned their website to include information about the rainwater harvesting systems they have built (www.bethevibejewelry.com).
Be The Vibe Jewelry also introduced their ambassador program this year through their website. Through this program, individuals are making a difference by running their own jewelry sales events or fundraisers for Be The Vibe Jewelry. This has been a successful program at both spreading awareness of inequality in access to clean water and fundraising money. If you are interested in supporting Be The Vibe Jewelry through running an event, contact annapostill@gmail.com. Be The Vibe would be delighted by your help. Community outreach has been another focus of Be The Vibe Jewelry. This summer, Be The Vibe worked with the Boys and Girls Club of Charlottetown to share their story with 50 young people. They led
a Jewelry making workshop and taught others the importance of social entrepreneurship. Be The Vibe Jewelry also had pop up booths at various schools, music festivals, and even a cross-fit gym! Be The Vibe Jewelry is very excited by its growth this past year. Gemma and Anna are beyond thrilled with the progress they made in improve water access in third world countries. “We could not have done this without the support of community members who purchased the jewelry and organizations like Oxford Scholastica, who enabled us through financial contributions.” – Gemma Postill. Gemma and Anna are not done making a difference. They will continue to raise money through their jewelry sales. Please check out their website www.bethevibejewelry.com and consider supporting them through purchasing some of their jewelry.
Gemma Postill was on our Young Doctors' Academy in 2016 and is now studying Medical Science at Western University in Canada.
ALUMNI UPDATES Karen Dahlhaug Sophie Nasralla Alex Godoroja 2015, Debate & Public Speaking
2015, Psychology
2017, Enterprise
Karen is just finishing her time at upper secondary school and is about to start the 17-day-long Norwegian "Russ" celebration, where secondary school students celebrate graduating from high school.
Sophie recently started university in Switzerland. After studying for 6 months she took up a 6 month internship at a 5-star hotel in central London.
Alex is currently preparing for the National stage of the International Maths Olympiad in his home country of Romania, having been very successful in the county phase.
After the summer Karen is heading into the military to serve for a year whilst deciding where to go from there!
Now that is over she is back in Switzerland continuing her studies in International Hospitality Management. We wish her all the best!
He is aiming to compete for Romania on the international stage and we'll certainly keep our fingers crossed for him!
ALUMNI UPDATES Mariana Otoya 2017, Young Doctor
Since her time at OSA, Mariana has been focusing on studying sciences at school and this has confirmed her passion to pursue studying medicine She is currently looking at scholarship programs at universities all around the world and is hoping she might come back to the UK to study in London. Sounds like we'll hopefully see you around here again soon Mariana!
Jordan Kupfer Gabriela Rivera 2016, Creative Writing
2017, Enterprise
Jordan wrote to us last year Gabriela has had a very in the midst of university adventurous year so far. applications. She's just come back from a Model United Nations at This year his efforts are Harvard in the US and then beginning to pay off and flew on to El Salvador for a he's received a conditional drama and theatre offer from the University of competition where she was Edinburgh to study awarded a Bronze medal. astrophysics! Fantastic news Jordan! He's still She's now back at school waiting to hear back from with her family, planning her American colleges but is next adventure! hoping to take up his place at Edinburgh in Autumn 2018.
Staff News
Lexie Joon As part of my gap year, I had the great pleasure to work for Oxford Scholastica. Straight after working for 6 amazing weeks, I started my Master’s course back home in Rotterdam. The Masters I did was in Media & Business, which sounds very vague, but it mostly focused on corporate communications, social media and the influence this has had on how corporate communications and business has changed in the past few years, particularly with reference to a concept called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Originally hailing from the Netherlands, Lexie was one our Senior Activities Coordinators in 2016 based at Lampl. She was a firm favourite amongst her "Lampies" and is legendary in Scholastica for her part in the staff ABBA act at the 2016 talent show It was a wonderful year and a final chapter of my university life. After doing a masters, you say goodbye to being a student (unless you do a PhD of course, but for most students that isn’t very common) so after hearing I passed my thesis in June 2017, it was both great and sad at the same time. Many of my peers felt the same and most of us didn’t know what we wanted to do next. I knew one thing for sure and that was that I wanted to work in London for a few years. My mum asked me several times, “do you have a plan B if you can’t find a job there?”. Every time I just ignored it
or said “I will find something, trust me!” I found a great job within a month and I’m proud to say I work as a Conference Producer at Metal Bulletin Events. We organise conferences within the metal and steel industry. As the Programme Manager, I’m responsible for making an agenda and arranging the speakers. I also work closely with the sales, marketing and operation teams to make sure everyone knows what the conference is about and what we need in order to produce a successful conference. So I’m sort of the red thread in creating the project, from promoting and selling it to actually running the conference. I never thought I’d be working within the metal and steel industry, but I really enjoy it. You never think about what your bike or your beer can are made of. Within the first month, I went to a recycled aluminium conference in Warsaw and supported the team to a factory where they show you how they make beer cans and the massive plates they use for construction or for cars. I’m now working on several conferences relating to batteries and electric vehicles. In April, I’m going to Shanghai for a Battery Materials conference where we’ll focus on nickel, cobalt, lithium and graphite. These are raw materials which are mined and then, through chemical processes, are made into batteries which we all use every day, like in your mobile phone or laptop. I’m lucky that I get to travel to lots of cool places for my job. A year ago, I didn’t think I’d be working in this industry! I don’t think
the job is for everyone. It’s a lot of travel, almost every other month and you work on lots of things at the same time so communicating well is definitely key, but it’s never boring and I’m learning a lot about electric cars, metals and batteries! My summer at Oxford Scholastica definitely helped me to stay calm in my current job and I often wonder how the students are doing. I hope you’re all doing great and are inspiring others with your Oxford stories, amazing enthusiasm to tackle the world’s problem and entrepreneurial spirits! I wish you all the best and who knows, one day you might be a keynote speaker for my conference!
Sian headed up our St Thomas' house as Senior Activities Coordinator in 2015 while studying Earth Science here at Oxford. She's now studying for her PhD at Imperial College London, but often travels right around the world checking out her beloved rocks!
Sian Evans
Hello everyone! How’s it going?! Seems like only yesterday we were rampaging around Oxford causing all sorts of mayhem, how time flies! I hope your time since Scholastica has been as adventurous as mine… let’s catch up. You may or may not remember at the end of summer I waved goodbye to my favourite old English town for the bright lights of the big city. I moved to London to continue studying the best subject in the world (geology, obviously). I went from Masters to PhD via fieldwork in the U.S mapping ancient rock formations, a research cruise around the Caribbean investigating volcanic processes, an expedition to New Zealand to monitor earthquakes, and most recently a tour of Israel learning about active tectonics of the Dead Sea! And that’s just for starters… (If you ever wanted to study something that lets you travel the world, look no further)! But wherever I end up, nothing quite compares to the city of dreaming spires, right?! Anyway, I better get back to it, this thesis isn’t going to write itself! Look me up if you ever find yourself wandering past Imperial College London - can’t promise I’ll be there though, there are too many adventures waiting to be had!
Anna was one of our Senior Activities Coordinators in 2016. She studied History at Cambridge and, since graduating, has been teaching English to refugees on the Greek Island of Chios, just off the coast of Turkey.
Anna Bockmuehl Last June, I graduated from university, and have spent the past few months working for a charity call Action for Education, which is running an incredible social and education project here on this small Greek Island, just south of the more widely known island of Lesbos. Understandably, given the lack of Western media attention, I was almost totally unaware of the incredible challenges facing refugees on Chios – and, over the course of my first couple of weeks here, I was repeatedly shocked at my own ignorance of the crisis. Refugees began arriving on Chios in large numbers in 2015, making a perilous journey across the seven miles between Chios and the Turkish mainland, travelling on inflatable dinghy boats often filled with 60 or 70 people – a high proportion of whom were children and young adults. Their lives even before this journey were universally traumatic, though very different – the refugee camp here is now home to many different nationalities including Syrians, Iraqis, Kurds and Afghans. These people have been shot at, trafficked, lost loved ones, and witnessed unspeakable things.
And then, on arrival at the gateway to Europe, they are warmly welcomed into a former prison camp – their home for the many months they are here. The Chios ‘transit’ camp, Vial, is the embodiment of despair. On the drive up to the camp, an imposing, grey warehouse rises out of the gloom of the mountainside, its perimeters lined with tall barbed wire fences. It is floodlit, and in this harsh, cold light, it is possible to make out the ‘overflow’ of people living under tarpaulins outside the perimeter, huddled around small fires. Volunteers are not permitted inside, but the perceptible change in the mood of the students as they near Vial on the return from school each day speaks volumes. The words “Vial, very bad”, accompanied by shaking heads and downcast faces, echo throughout the group. And it was this environment – the incredible emotional and physical hardship of living in such a deprived refugee camp – that initially kicked off the project, with its broad aim being to tackle the alarming mental health crisis developing amongst young people. It has since evolved into two formal institutions – an English school and a youth centre – and has provided a safe, stable, nurturing space away from the camp for more than 2000 children
and young adults over the past two years. Children living in the camp are not eligible for any kind of formal education in the Greek system – and many have been out of education for the months or years over the course of their journey. It is impossible to overstate the impact this project is having – and over the few months I have been here, I have witnessed time and again the incredible social and emotional impact of the work Action for Education is doing – on both a personal and a collective level. Even in my first week, I was surprised not only by the ease with which we could communicate with the students who came to school but also by the real depth of that communication, despite the language barrier. Before this, I’d never appreciated how much of a human relationship is built on shared experience, a smile, or eye contact, and just how little language is actually needed to create understanding. On my second day of teaching, I began drawing a sea scene on the chalkboard and some of the students joined me. We named the different animals in English and Arabic, but it was the drawing that formed the basis for the real connection – that no matter where we’d come from, we could share such simple common interests, and appreciate them together. Even humour doesn’t need language – there are so many smiles, and so much laughter in our school, based on often very little English language or Arabic communication. I couldn’t explain it if you asked me to – I usually have no idea what we’re laughing about – but sharing even something that simple totally throws into relief how our differences are just completely non-existent on a human level. People really are just people. One of the very best moments of the past month was a truly uplifting end to a school day. One of the teachers had taught a guitar and ukulele class with some of the more advanced musicians, composing a song called ‘Habibi’ (which means ‘my love’ in Arabic – something you’d call a good friend or partner). Kind of spontaneously, a couple of them
started singing, and within minutes we had all 25 or so students in the room, some playing small drums, some on the guitar, others just clapping or dancing all with huge smiles! Students from Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and beyond, united and wonderfully carefree – such an ordinary, happy moment untainted by the difficulties of life outside the school. It was amazing! Language can be, however, an incredible tool of empowerment – something all too visible both in our school and in the Women’s Centre for refugees. One day last week, I was sitting at the end of the lesson with a wonderful Afgan woman in the centre, who did not yet know the English alphabet. With absolute beginners, I try to isolate some time at the end of the lesson to give them some one-to-one help, and on this occasion I was teaching her to write her name with English letters. I wrote it on a whiteboard for her to copy, then asked her to trace it out several times before she copied it into her workbook. The way her face lit up at being taught such a simple skill is indescribable – and yet again, makes me realise how much we really take for granted; I’d never even thought about how being able to write one’s name is
genuinely empowering! At the end of the class, she leapt up and threw her arms around me, beaming. Her excitement was contagious, and yet again made me realise the magnitude of the impact these projects are having. In a different but equally powerful way, language learning in a safe, supportive, unpressured environment transforms the confidence of students at the High School. Over the months they are here, their language skills improve dramatically, enabling them to engage with each other and with teachers on a deeper level, as well as giving them a real sense of achievement as they move up through the levels. Life in the camp is often hopeless and purposeless, but education – both social and linguistic – provides students with a purpose, however small, as well as a weekly structure, the impact of which is immeasurable. It’s been a truly incredible, eye-opening experience that has, without a doubt, given me the motivation to pursue humanitarian work later in my career.
Tim was with us in both 2015 and 2016 as an Activities Coordinator and then a Senior Activities Coordinator. He studied music at Oxford between 2013-2016 and is now training to be a pilot!
Tim Muggeridge Hi everyone! I was an Activities Coordinator at OSA in the summers of 2015 and 2016 whilst I was studying for my degree in Music here at Oxford. As lots of you know, particularly if you were in Tim’s Tunes in 2016(!), music made up a huge part of my life at university and I ran a number of choirs and bands, including my college’s Chapel Choir and one of the university jazz bands, whilst I was studying. However, since graduating in July 2016 I’ve changed direction (rather dramatically..!) and for the last 18 months have been training to become an airline pilot at L3 Airline Academy! The training is pretty intense and started off with 6 months of hard work to pass the fourteen Air Transport Pilot Licence qualifications but after we passed these exams we headed out to New Zealand for four months to take basic flight training in the little Cessna 172 aircraft (pictured below!). Flying around such beautiful scenery (NZ was the filming location for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films) was a truly amazing experience. As part of the syllabus, we had to complete a number of hours solo cross-country flight time where you go flying all by yourself.
To sit alone for the first time in a plane at the start of the runway and hear the words “Cessna charlie tango alpha, cleared for take-off…” as you push the power lever forward is a truly unforgettable experience. The flying schedule was pretty busy, with lots of 5am starts (particularly in the winter when you had to de-ice your plane before take-off), but we got a fair amount of time to explore New Zealand and I even climbed the active volcano Mt. Ngauruhoe (better known as Mt. Doom to you and me). It turns out one does simply walk into Mordor, just after you’ve parked the car… I’m still keeping the music up though, and having played at a few cathedrals out in NZ, I’m currently acting Director of Music at a church in Bracknell, just outside of London, which keeps me busy enough! I’m now back in the UK and have another 6 months of training to go, this time in big full-motion Airbus simulators, before finally, if all goes to plan, starting to fly the Airbus A330 for Virgin Atlantic in Autumn this year. So if you’re ever flying with Virgin and hear a familiar voice on the intercom then come and say hi! I might even be able to get you an upgrade…
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