23 minute read
CHANGED DAYS
AN ALUMNAE PERSPECTIVE
In our previous edition, we reflected on how much people’s lives had changed during the pandemic and included experiences, thoughts and observations from several alumnae within our community. This was well received and offered the chance to share and learn, and so we have decided to feature it again in this edition.
We asked a number of women who have chosen different career paths to share some of their experiences. They have kindly offered a snapshot into their St G’s experiences and how they have been navigating the pandemic at work and in life more generally. We are delighted even to have mother and daughter alumnae, the Rentons, sharing their experiences.
With reflections from different perspectives, we have been so interested to hear how our community has responded and continue to find hope and positivity from this situation.
RONA RENTON
Class of 2011 (from 1996)
At St G’s
The St G’s influence: “Learning to try things until I find something I love doing, and then sticking with it until I excel.”
Today
My favourite subject:“Definitely music. It always made me feel part of something bigger. I had the freedom to be creative whilst honing my performance skills. I was being encouraged to achieve my best without being pushed too far, the staff were so supportive!”
My education at St G’s: “The opportunities I was offered at St George’s were unparalleled. I learned that you get out what you put in, so if you show a passion or an interest to try or achieve something, that will be recognised and supported.” My strongest memories: “I never had as much fun with my friends as when I was performing – there was always such a feeling of being united by this shared experience and I got to sing, act, play and just generally have a great time whilst doing it.”
My job and career choices: “I studied primary education when I left school and loved working with children, but quickly found that the teaching role wasn’t the right fit for me. In 2018 I undertook my MSc in Occupational Therapy and started my career in a split post between an adult mental health team and an older adult mental health ward in April 2020. In December 2020, I secured a permanent post in the Children and Young People’s Occupational Therapy Service in Edinburgh. I am so grateful and loving the work!” How COVID has changed my job: “I started my Occupational Therapy career in March 2020 at the height of lockdown and the start of the pandemic. I have only ever known working in the NHS during the pandemic. This was quite difficult to come to terms with: as a new therapist, it was extremely overwhelming at times. I had an excellent supervisor and wonderful colleagues who supported me through this. It certainly sounds as though life has changed a lot of ‘usual practice’, but just now I carry out almost all of my appointments with children over video consultation.”
My life in response to the pandemic:
“The pandemic has been a strangely successful time for me, starting off in my paediatric occupational therapy career which I love. It has certainly been a strange time also and I was not able to physically graduate from my MSc or see my extended family even through some tricky family times. I feel like I have a better understanding of what is important to me in the wider picture of my life.”
What I have overcome and learned:
“I saved enough money to buy my first home. The pandemic was great for my purse strings and I’m now settled in my home and loving every minute.
“I have had tricky times and dealing with the death of the patients I was working with on the older adult mental health ward, from COVID-19, was very hard. Even though I was new and learning, I don’t think that gets any easier.”
My most admired organisation / individual during the pandemic:
“Being part of the NHS, I must say I admire every single person working on the front line. The impact of the pandemic on every healthcare worker has been overwhelming. People have changed their routines, ways of working and some people were even redeployed - changing their entire job. This is all done to support service users in the best possible way, and I respect everyone so much for that.”
My most coveted return is to: “The theatre. I think I will be overwhelmed when the curtain goes up for the first time post-pandemic and I can enjoy the experience of being part of a crowd again!”
SOPHIE RENTON
Class of 2008 (joined in 1993)
At St G’s
My favourite subject: “I was very keen on drama and performance and loved art passionately. In my Higher year, I found another passion in studying the art, mythology and history of the Ancient World, and Classical Studies soon became my favourite subject. It seemed to offer elements of all my interests in one – literacy, art, culture, history and drama.”
My education at St G’s: “It was about the passionate teaching staff, wide variety of subject choices and the friends that I have made for life.”
My strongest memories: “Long hours working on projects in the art department, to adrenaline-packed performances on stage, the most memorable being when I played the role of Jenny in ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ in my Sixth Form year. From the Junior School, I remember singing at weekly assemblies, studying exciting topics and wearing our ‘navy knickers’ under our pinafores on gym days.”
The St G’s influence: “I feel very privileged to have been surrounded by family, friends and teachers who were passionate about education. Indeed, this passion has led me to pursue my own career in teaching. I feel lucky that St George’s supported me to play to, and develop, my individual strengths, giving me the confidence to move onto further education and the world of work.”
Today
My job and career choices: “I studied Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of St Andrews then worked for a short time in archaeology, excavating mediaeval burial sites in Romania and then closer to home. Following this, my wanderlust allowed me to take up a role on a small cruise ship as a Shore Excursions Assistant, where I used my historical knowledge to tour historical sites in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.”
“After returning home I studied a PGDE in Primary Education at the University of Edinburgh, starting my career in education. I have taught both in Scotland and London over the past 7 years, and have recently taken up my new role as Assistant Head of the Junior School at Dollar Academy. I am passionate about education and feel very privileged to have such a varied and rewarding career.”
How COVID has changed my job: “As teachers, our daily routine has changed immeasurably. I also had the added challenge of taking on my new role at the start of the academic session in 2020. Learning the nuances of a new job, as well as negotiating a global pandemic have certainly posed challenges. Notably, the biggest change for me has been not seeing the corridors and classrooms full of activity and smiling children’s faces. You go into teaching to work with people, around people and for people. This cannot be replaced, in my opinion, on screen.”
My life in response to the pandemic:
“Broadly, life has ‘slowed down’ a little. In many ways, the pandemic offers time to reflect on daily routines and on what is really important to you in life. Nonetheless, being isolated from family and friends has resulted in a big change in my weekly routines. Let’s just say that I currently fill my weekends with running, walking, cooking and cleaning!”
What I have overcome and learned:
“The past year has posed many challenges, namely the closure of schools and the stark change that created in my day-to-day work life. On a more positive note, regular Zooms with family and friends have been a cause for celebration. Seeing my 90-year-old Grandma log into Zoom each Sunday for a family catch up was inspiring, and made you realise that anything is possible.”
My most admired organisation/
individual during the pandemic: “I feel that all educational institutions should be admired for the way they have responded to the pandemic. In many ways, I feel that teachers have been given some bad press over the past year. In education, one has to be flexible, adaptable and open to change. It is part and parcel of the job. That said, schools closing has turned education as we know it on its head. I believe that the way in which schools and teachers have responded to the needs of children and young people is inspiring. It may not always have been perfect, but is anything?”
My most coveted return is to: “Simply hugging my family. There is something so difficult about physical separation from those you love. When the time comes, I will hold those I love even closer than I did before.”
LINDA RENTON
Class of 1977 (joined in 1965)
At St G’s
My favourite subject was: “I loved sport (tennis, lacrosse, hockey, netball). I also loved French after spending two weeks in Paris, aged 15, with a friend of my mother’s, who only spoke French with me in the mornings.”
My education at St G’s: “I believe it gave me a sense of confidence and practice in speaking out and putting my views across.”
My memories of St G’s: “Walking to school in the mornings with my next-door neighbours, sunbathing at the little door round the side of the school (Geography classroom), cold winter lacrosse games and warm sunny tennis matches on a Saturday morning. I also remember the noisy, huge radiators, which clunked and clanked throughout lessons and the window poles, to open the window. We had to take our turn as “ink monitors” to fill and empty the ink wells on each desk, for each lesson, as we wrote with fountain pens. We also had a ‘door girl’ to open the door to any visitors to the classroom and a ‘blackboard monitor’ to wipe the blackboard clean after each lesson.”
The St G’s influence: “St George’s taught me to be polite, respect others, listen and to try new things as they came along.”
Today
My job and career choices: “I became an occupational therapist and have loved my career. Occupational therapists are experts in “occupation or activity”, so I helped people get back to their lives, facilitating discharge from hospital and helping them manage their daily occupations and resume their lives. I worked in a Forensic Unit, an Acute Admissions Ward, a Professorial Unit and in Care of the Elderly.
“I moved into academia, as a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy in 1990, after having studied (on top of full-time work) for a BSc (Hons) in Health Studies. I undertook an MSc in Counselling Studies in 2005 (whilst working full time) and am a PhD candidate at present. I have worked at Queen Margaret University since 1980 and am now a Senior Lecturer.”
How COVID has changed my job: “My job has changed greatly. From being mainly classroom and office based, we had to move most of the academic component of our programmes online. This required me to learn a variety of new technology platforms to facilitate the delivery of teaching and learning. In my postgraduate teaching and learning, much of the work with students also involves supervision and facilitation of learning through student independent learning.”
My life in response to the pandemic: “My personal life has changed in many ways but the most striking is that I presently work from home. This has advantages such as being able to pace myself and not having to travel. But it can be frustrating when I can’t meet with colleagues informally or have the social interactions we all took for granted before the pandemic.”
What I have overcome and learned: “I have learned many new skills in relation to technology and taken these opportunities to keep developing my skills and knowledge and seize the chances as they arose.
“A more challenging issue is that I miss my friends and family. My two daughters both went to St George’s, and we can only meet virtually at present. Both have front line jobs, working as an occupational therapist
and a teacher, so they are very busy.”
My most admired organisation /
individual during the pandemic: “As an occupational therapist, I have witnessed the amazing work that many of my colleagues are undertaking at present.”
My most coveted return is to: “Hugging my family and just spending time together. Appreciating the simple pleasures of socialising.”
THE REVD MARGARET
CAVE (née Sealey) Class of 1980 (joined in 1969)
At St G’s
My favourite subject: “was Maths – I loved the subject and found numbers and their interconnections fascinating – I especially enjoyed algebra. I also really liked my Maths teachers – Mrs Gray and Miss Golding.”
My education at St G’s: “I enjoyed the huge variety of subjects and extracurricular activities at St George’s. I found school an immersive experience and I always enjoyed going to school, finding it stimulating and fun. I loved being with
Above: Margaret Cave as a young student
my friends, learning, playing sport and growing up together.”
My memories of St G’s: “So many from every stage, from the excitement of wearing one of the amazing senior prefect badges to being given my one and only detention for being cheeky in Biology with Miss Lewis. I remember the headmistresses particularly well, notably Miss Lindsay wearing our school uniform herself and giving out single Smarties. Later, I remember Mrs Clanchy being a wonderful role model. My most important memories are of really good and committed teaching staff and a great peer group of friends.”
The St G’s influence: “St George’s had high standards and good values which were important to me. Also, St George’s put value on trying hard and being a good person as much as succeeding, whether academically or on the playing field. I always remember a silver cup being awarded to the person who had tried hard as well as the person who achieved academically.”
Today
My job and career choices: “I am now a full-time ordained minister in the Church of England. I have been the Team Rector in East Greenwich (the O2 is in my parish) for the last seven and a half years. I love living and working in Southeast London in a fast-growing and extremely diverse area. Our church communities reflect the local diversity and I value being part of an inclusive and varied church family. Being a church minister is also a very varied role involving the obvious up-front things like leading worship services, preaching, marrying people and conducting baptisms and funerals, but also has brilliant opportunities to get involved with social justice projects, build up community and meet and minister to people at really key moments in their lives. For example, I am chair of trustees for our local winter night shelter in Greenwich.”
How COVID has changed my job:
“The pandemic has had a huge impact on the church and our worshipping community. From the first lockdown, places of worship had to be closed, meaning we had to transfer all our worship and meetings online. Together with the church leadership team, we had to quickly get up to speed broadcasting services on Facebook and YouTube, and holding our small groups and other church meetings via Zoom. Like many other people, I now spend a lot of time online and have had to work out how to minister effectively in a very different way. I particularly miss being able to touch other people and realise how important I find touch as part of ministry, for example, being able to put a comforting hand on someone’s shoulder at a funeral or funeral visit.”
My life in response to the pandemic:
“Broadly, my life has been simpler as a result of the pandemic. I have enjoyed some aspects of this simplicity with less going out and socialising and a more straightforward daily routine. However, I really miss seeing other people from a ministry point of view as well as family and friends, and I miss being able to go to the cinema and theatre or out for a meal.”
What I have overcome and learned:
“One of the really positive things over the last year has been leading and developing effective online worship with my church family. I have taken great pleasure in being able to involve lots of different people in our online services in many different ways. I have found one
of the biggest challenges over lockdown was not being able to conduct marriages at all, and then only with a few people, and also only being able to have a limited number of people at funerals. It is so hard for people to mark life-changing events without everyone there who should be there.”
My most admired organisation/
individual during the pandemic: “I really admire schools and their staff as they have risen to the challenge of online learning at the same time as educating key worker children. As a school governor, I have seen how great the workload and responsibility for school staff has been and appreciate and admire all that schools have done and are doing to give children the best education they can in the circumstances.”
My most coveted return is: “Going on holiday again. We had to cancel a holiday in the Outer Hebrides which I very much hope we can reorganise for 2022.” that interested you, which was different to the more standardised approach I’d been used to. I’m forever grateful to all the teachers who spent countless hours with me, working through my university and career options and taking the time to really listen to what I wanted.”
My memories of St G’s: “The ski trip to Les Menuires was a real highlight for me, notwithstanding the fact I was a terrible skier!”
MARLIESE PERKS
Class of 2011 (joined in 2010)
At St G’s
My favourite subject was: “Spanish. We had so many interesting discussions about topical issues and occasionally Dr Dorward would bring us in Turron (a Spanish nougat) to sweeten the deal.”
My education at St G’s: “I loved how personalised the experience was. There was a huge focus on being yourself and taking part in activities and subjects
The St G’s influence: “It helped me develop a growth mindset and I learned to push outside of my comfort zone. I was inspired by my peers who said yes to a huge variety of opportunities that pushed their comfort zones, and I’ve tried to adopt that mindset in my work ever since. In that short year, I also found some of my closest friends.”
Today
My job and career choices: “I’m a technology lawyer for Royal Bank of Scotland. I advise the Bank on innovation and outsourcing projects to make sure that we are managing legal risks and regulatory requirements, which includes advising on the latest technology. For example, I recently advised on the Bank’s trial of voice banking with Google. I love the variety in my role and being part of such a dynamic organisation.”
How COVID has changed my job: “My commute is very different now - instead of a tram ride to Gogarburn, it’s a few steps through to my study. I was given an award in October by the Law Society of Scotland, which was a lovely surprise in a year that otherwise didn’t feature many high points.”
What I have overcome and learned:
“I’ve got a new appreciation for the simple things that I never took the time to notice before. I’ve been running and walking, together with trying (and often failing at) online fitness classes.”
My most admired organisation/
individual during the pandemic: “I have huge admiration for my two close friends, Melissa Manson and Victoria Gordon (both St George’s alumnae) who have worked in our NHS throughout the pandemic, at a time when many of the rest of us could stay safe at home. Melissa bravely put herself forward to work in the emergency only dental clinic right from the start of the pandemic, and has recently been administering vaccines on her days off from dentistry. Victoria was working long days on the wards as a doctor taking care of COVID patients. They’re not the only ones, of course - I know many in our St George’s community have been serving in the NHS or as key workers and I’m grateful to them all.”
My most coveted return is to:
“The beach in sunnier climes sounds fabulous, but I’m most looking forward to getting together with family and friends. I’m sure we’ll all hug them a little longer and a little closer when the rules allow. I’m also looking forward to getting back to my netball team but, having not picked up a ball in almost a year, I’ll almost certainly be a little rusty!”
ALISON WEEKS
(née Rae) Class of 1994 (joined in 1981)
At St G’s
My favourite subject was: “History or English. I found them very enjoyable and interesting. Mr Shepley and Ms Lancaster made them fascinating subjects and I found their lessons relaxing places, whilst being challenged always to do better. Plus, I got decent marks in them, so that helped!”
My education at St G’s: “It was the sense of being part of something valuable. I was always aware of my good fortune in my parents being able to send me there, and I remember feeling privileged to be in the school. Plus, that I was part of a long story of the history of the school.”
My memories of St G’s: “Clearly, my good friends and life in the boarding house are strong, but when looking at this question, strangely, the building stands out. The corridors, halls, wooden stairs and the boarding houses were like home for me for 13 years. It always had a sense of history for me and I was just one in a very long chain of girls being educated there. Maybe because I was there in 1988 and the centenary celebrations told that story, but I do have very happy memories of the school.”
The St G’s influence: “A powerful belief in the importance of a visible and deliberate education for girls. As a teacher and mother, it has always been a driving force for me to champion women in the taught curriculum, access for girls in all parts of the curriculum and to have diversity in management. Having taught overseas for nearly 10 years now, including in the Middle East, I believe in the fundamental importance of young people seeing women / mothers in management and as decision makers in the workplace.”
Today
My job and career choices: “I have been a teacher now for 20 years, a History teacher, and also in middle and senior management.”
How COVID has changed my job: “Very much! My husband (also a teacher) and I were in a school in Uganda with our son last year. COVID bankrupted the school in December, so we were both facing unemployment and losing our home. We were extremely lucky to have found jobs in Singapore where we are now. From a certain perspective, we are some of the very few to have demonstrably improved our lives in 2020.”
My life in response to the pandemic:
“We haven’t seen our family since 2019 and we lost our jobs, so 2020 was certainly hard work, but we are all safe and healthy. In Uganda, although the borders closed, we were allowed to travel around inside the country, so we were able to get out of Kampala from time to time. All in all, things could have been significantly worse.”
What I have overcome and learned:
“The most challenging thing was supporting students in Uganda with online learning. We had about four days to move from being a boarding school to setting up an online school, where many of the students would not have access to devices, textbooks or constant electricity in their homes all over East Africa. I ended up teaching classes on Teams, WhatsApp and via email or the phone, sometimes all at once. Power cuts are a constant feature of life in East Africa, and national schools taught their students via the radio. We didn’t have that option but, without knowing when the power would go off plus how the exams were going to be awarded last summer for our IG, AS and A Level classes, we had to keep going and doing the best we could to give our students as many ways to access the resources, our feedback and our help as we could. We stayed online in September as the President did not want schools to reopen, so from March to December I did not teach in a classroom, and it made me realise how much I love it.
It also meant that our son did not see a person his age for about 9 months, so whilst that was really hard for him, one positive was our time as a family and him connecting with his cousins in Britain for online gaming sessions and just talking to them. All of us taking the time to call friends and family has been a real positive and one we did not take the time to do enough pre-COVID.”
My most admired organisation/
individual during the pandemic: “In a very broad sense I would say anyone who has upturned their way of working to do the best they can to keep some sense of normality. When the dust settles from all this, the world will be a very different place and those of us who are able to support others to build their lives up again are going to need to do that for a long time to come.”
My most coveted return is to: “Seeing family. Life in Britain right now is very different to ours in Singapore and it is hard to talk to parents, siblings and cousins without knowing when we can see them again.”
