Download - Hippocampus 2015

Transcript

Hippocampus

Contents

3-6 Principal’s Welcome

6 Alumni Officer Welcome

7 Dates for your diary

8 -10 Presidents’ Welcome

12 MCR visit Wallington House

14-15 Trevelyan News

16-17 Music

18-19 Societies

20-21 Full Colour Awards

22-23 ‘Carpe Diem’

24-28 Student Travel

29-33 Where are you now?

34 September 2015 Reunion Form

P 22 P 15 P 6

Okay, call me Ishmael. Or, to put the matter slightly more fully: No, in response to the challenge I set myself in last year’s Hippocampus, I didn’t find a novelistic opening line that quite eclipsed Melville’s ‘Call me Ishmael’ for sheer punch. However I had fun looking, and it was with only semi-autobiographical regret that I decided against ‘He should have seen it coming’ (Howard Jacobson’s The Finkler Question), ‘I pressed the door gently’ (Iris Murdoch’s the italian girl [sic]) or, perish the thought, ‘At long last the minister stood in the pulpit’ (Selma Lagerlöf’s The Saga of Gösta Berling). Most remarkably I discovered that, against what one might take to be astronomically improbable odds, the expression ‘bald pink knees’ features in not one but two novels’ opening lines – check out for yourselves Graham Greene’s The Heart of the Matter and Pat Barker’s The Ghost Road. Every day in higher education we push back a little further the frontiers of human knowledge and please may I claim today’s prize. Ms Barker lives barely more than a mile from Trevelyan, and I’ll try to find an opportunity to ask her whether, as it were, her knees were a conscious homage to Greene’s. (Today’s second achievement: in support of Noam Chomsky’s theory of the infinite flexibility of language, the previous knee-ridden sentence can surely never before have been uttered at any point in history.) You can tell already, I suppose, that it’s not yet term-time as I write this. No matter – plenty to report, and so let me begin by confirming that, once again, Trevelyan is a happy place to be, a community in good heart (and indeed in good voice, of which more anon). I think it’s important to stress this, because you may well have picked up that there were for a time last year some widespread anxieties about the future of the Durham collegiate system amid proposed reorganisation within the university. It was a difficult period for us all, but suffice it for me to say two things now: first, the proposals as they directly affected colleges were withdrawn and the university’s commitment to the collegiate system reaffirmed; and second, in the course of – how best to put it? – standing up for ourselves, the community of Durham colleges found a wonderful sense of solidarity and common purpose both among ourselves and with our departmental academic colleagues, as well as with current students and, significantly, our alumni communities. It is, one might say, as though we have renewed our vows! Certainly I personally believe that the collegiate system is stronger and more ‘present to itself’ than previously, perhaps than ever before. This is admittedly an unusual way to begin my annual report to you, but I think it is important to affirm that the colleges prevail – and important also, to thank those very many Alumni (something repeated across all the colleges, I suspect) who expressed concern and support for us. It meant a lot, and it means a lot. A happy outcome, then, and a happy Trevs. So let me move on to a necessarily brisk summary of 2014’s many highlights. In roughly chronological order, in Epiphany Term and for the third consecutive year Trevelyan (the smallest of the maintained colleges) won the DUCK trophy and the DUCK shield for the most money raised for charity – both per student and in total – among all the Durham Colleges; it’s a simply extraordinary achievement.

Principal, Prof. Martyn Evans

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Music next, and the traditional annual highlight featured a new stage musical in my personal experience – Thoroughly Modern Millie, featuring a new star lead female vocalist and new star comic talent (as part of a memorable, albeit politically incorrect, double act of ‘Chinese’ laundrymen…). Not to be outdone(!) the current Chancellor Sir Thomas Allen gave a simply wonderful master-class performing Schubert’s Die Winterreise, in the Dowrick Suite in March. After Easter we inaugurated our annual GM Trevelyan Memorial Lecture series with a splendid presentation by renowned environmentalist Jonathon Porritt – followed up later in the year, for timetabling reasons ‘beyond our control’ as they say, with the second GMT Lecture memorably given by the BBC’s James Burke. Other interesting scholarly visitors included author Lesley Chamberlain (with husband Pavel, former Czech Ambassador to London). Lesley and Pavel engaged with both College and SCR, and enjoyed their time here, Pavel fascinating us with hypnotic tales of life as a dissident in communist Czechoslovakia before end of the Cold War. In June, the exam season brought another tremendous harvest of results – 25% of our finalists achieved a First Class honours degree, and almost 88% of them achieved an Upper-Second or better. Perhaps reflecting this scholarly industry, the College’s Research Committee was launched, coordinating scholarly activities in all three Common Rooms – I will report on this in more detail in the next issue of Hippocampus. Elsewhere on the musical front, highlights on the part of the students included a university orchestral concert featuring John Reddell, Trevelyan Fresher, as piano soloist in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue; and Lucy Twine, second year, was the soloist in a violin concerto as part of a university concert programme which during the summer went on tour to Berlin, where Lucy got excellent reviews. Also on the road(!) were the newly-formed Trevelyan Chamber Choir, singing evensong at Ripon Cathedral and at York Minster; and in Michaelmas we had a wonderful inaugural concert from the College’s new Chamber Orchestra, a classical ensemble of a standard that confirms Trevelyan’s musical distinction within the university. From the standpoint of our physical estate, the big story over the summer was the superb refurbishment of our kitchen and servery, along with a comprehensive redevelopment of the Sir James Knott Hall and the adjoining Dowrick Suite, repurposed as a small bespoke auditorium for musical, theatrical and literary recitals as well as academic symposia and – when need arises – for use as our very own cinema (see page 6). The redevelopment achieved many things but incurred endless delays and inconvenience – heroically overcome by our wonderful Freshers’ Reps who once again gave the 2014 Freshers the inimitable Trevelyan welcome, paying immediate dividends in the current academic year. We now have really splendid social and recreational facilities, that highlight all-too-clearly how many of our bedrooms and bathrooms are overdue for refurbishment. I guess we can’t have it all at once, but…

Principal, Prof. Martyn Evans

‘Trevelyan is a happy place to be, a community in good heart (and indeed in good voice, of which more anon)’

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One thing we are hoping to have in reasonably short order is a new building for our fitness suite/gym, partly funded by the generous bequest from our founding Principal the late Miss Joan Bernard, with the remainder to be sought from our ‘Fifty for 50’ appeal (described elsewhere in this issue). This falls among our general aspirations for the College’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations next year, for which planning is well under way thanks to a Committee that is ably served by Alumni ranging from Foundation year 1966 all the way up to graduates from last year! See Tash Gill’s more detailed report in the following pages. Finally, I have to report with great regret the departure during the year of our Chaplain, Revd. Dr Paul Regan, for an academic post in St John’s College. Whilst an excellent move for Paul individually, it does mean the end of a marvellous period of unbroken service on the part of a team of experienced College Officers. We are finalising the process of recruiting a new Chaplain under arrangements very similar to those previously obtaining. We will be fortunate indeed if we are able to reproduce Paul’s contribution. Another memorable year, then, and as we approach our Golden Jubilee we continue to set the bar ever higher… Which reminds me – the Bar made a profit again! With my best wishes to you all, Martyn Evans Principal

Principal, Prof. Martyn Evans

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The renovation work in Trevelyan on the Dowrick Suite , Sir James Knott Hall, Dining Hall and the MASH room (the recording studio).

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18- 20 September 2015 Reunion

Please complete and return by Friday 28th August 2015: Personal Details: Title: …………… First Name: ……………………... Surname: ……………………… Maiden Name: (if applicable) ……………………………………………………………………………….. Contact Address: ………………………………………………………………………………………..... ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………. Post Code: ……………………………………….. Telephone Day: ……………………………… Telephone Evening: ………..…………………… Email Address: ………………………………. Years in College: From …………. To ………... Guest: First Name: …………………………. Surname: …...……………………………………. Name Badge (preferred name): ………………………………………………………………………… Name Badge for Guest(s) (preferred name):……………………………………………………

Price per

person

No. of People Total Cost Dietary/Other

Requirements

Friday 18th September

Buffet Dinner £10.00

B&B Single En suite £33.00

B&B Single Standard £27.00

B&B Twin Standard £44.00

Saturday 19th

September

Afternoon Tea foc

Alumni Dinner £27.00

B&B Single En suite £33.00.

B&B Single Standard £27.00

B&B Twin Standard £44.00

Total

Form of Payment: Please pay by cheque made payable to ‘Durham University’ Please send completed form plus cheque by 28th August to: Natasha Gill, Alumni Office, Trevelyan College, Elvet Hill Road, Durham. DH1 3LN

My passion for Trevs, like many of you reading this magazine, is something that was instilled from the first day I walked through the door, and now years later, my passion for continuing to develop the fantastic opportunities for current students, and engaging with those whom have now graduated from the institution, are a daily pleasure, and one I am continually proud to do! Just a bit about myself, I joined Trevelyan in second year (having been at Leeds University previously) and got stuck into life at Trevs instantly. I joined the boat club, wrote articles for Palatinate and became part of the Welfare Committee. I then produced Live on the Hill (raising over £1000 for charity!), became JCR Welfare Officer, took up the post of Assistant Station manager at Purple Radio, and was President and Producer of the Musical Society…oh, and I managed to graduate in Theology! After that, I just wasn’t ready to leave Trevs!

Welcome

It has been an extremely busy year in the alumni and development office. As well as the day to day tasks, it has been my role to begin organisation for the 50th Anniversary, which is to take place in 2016! The College first opened its doors in 1966, and from then has grown and developed in unimaginable ways, bringing in a number of talented students from around the world, developing their academic skills, as well as giving them the opportunity to engage in almost every extra-curricular activity imaginable. That is why it is my great pleasure to be able to organise a number of events (along with a fantastic committee of Alumni and dedicated College Staff and students) that will celebrate all that Trevs was, is and is going to be in the future. Please take a look overleaf at the dates of events happening in 2016! Make a note in your diary, tell friends, get groups together, and watch this space about making your reservations! Also, scan across some pictures to us for our 2016 exhibition, dig out your old memorabilia, or find the ball gown from your time at Trevs! We want to celebrate the time that you were here. Of course, we cannot celebrate without you, so please make sure your contact details are up to date on our email system! This can be done by contacting myself in the Alumni Office at [email protected]. It is always a pleasure to hear from alumni, and I hope to hear from you soon. Best wishes Natasha

Hello! My name is Natasha Gill, and I am this years Sabbatical Alumni and Development Officer!

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The fantastic entry of Megan Manson (née Balanck), Class of 2007! We took great pleasure in judging a huge number of brilliant entries for our logo competition, and would like to thank all who sent in a

design!

Dates for your diary

A reunion wouldn’t be the same without you, why not sign up today?! All of these events will be on a first come, first served basis. The June 2015 and September 2015 events are now open for bookings, which can either be done via the website https://www.dunelm.org.uk/events/booking or by printing off the booking forms from our website www.durham.ac.uk/trevelyan.college/alumni/reunions/ and returning this with a cheque to the alumni office. Booking for other events will be organised in the near future, so please watch out for emails from the College, as well as the College website for more information. A limited number of rooms will be available in College over the 2016 year, but we are also organising discounted prices at local hotels, which will be advertised with event information.

20th-21st June 2015 – Recent Graduates Reunion

(Graduates of the past 5 years)

18th-20th September 2015 – Trevelyan Reunion Weekend (All welcome)

10th April 2016 – Alumni Reunion in Bristol

15th May 2016 – Alumni Reunion in Leeds

22nd May 2016 – Alumni Reunion in London

19th June – ’50 Peaks Challenge’. Unite with us and climb a peak near you

and take a photo at the top!

Friday 8th and Saturday 9th July 2016 – Celebration Ball

Friday 16th and Saturday 17th September 2016 – Celebration Reunion Weekend

There will also be a gala concert held at the Cathedral, however this date is still being clarified. Best estimate, late November/early December 2016.

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It seems surreal that the time has already come for me to write an article about my year as JCR President. The past twelve months have been the usual whirl of activities, socialising and, of course, studying at Trevs. I hope this article gives you at least a small insight into it all! As always, Trevs remains the greatest College to be part of. We won the college DUCK awards for most money raised in total as well as most per student; currently three of our sports teams are top of their league; we had the most students of any college involved in the university’s flagship show at the Gala Theatre; we won the intercollegiate University Challenge; and our very own Eco Charity Fashion Show is about to take place. These are simply a few of the highlights from the past year and are indicative of the diverse array of activities and successes Trevs’ students continue to be involved in. We may be the small, musical college but I am sure the alumni will be pleased to know we continue to punch above our weight across the board. It is fantastic to see engagement in the JCR growing too. We had a three-way heavily contested Presidential election in December, the first contested Presidential election in at least six years, in which almost half the JCR voted. Furthermore, the Committee Elections in October had a record number of 80 nominations for 39 positions. As my predecessor explained in his article for Hippocampus last year, the JCR changed from being an independent charity to become a DSO, Durham Student Organisation, last year. Some of the money saved through this move has been used to create the TCUP (Trevelyan College University Participation) fund. Nine students received money to support their participation in university level music and sport. It has been a privilege to lead and represent Trevs. I am very grateful to the numerous people, but particularly my Exec, who contribute so much time and energy to ensure that Trevs remains the friendly, inclusive and fun college that it is.

Hannah Pilkington JCR President 14-15

‘As always, Trevs

remains the

greatest College to be part of.’

JCR Presidents Welcome

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Chris Wastell MCR President 14-15 PhD Student in Computer Science

It has been a busy start to the year! With the majority of our members being on a one year postgraduate course, our membership evolves at a much higher rate than the other common rooms. For people such as myself, who have been in Durham for longer than we care to admit, it is fantastic to see the enthusiasm that our new members bring with them year on year. For example within the first couple of weeks we had filled all of our committee roles, discovered that there is a hidden love for arts and crafts amongst our members and seen a group setup within our MCR for trips to the local climbing walls. Our new members have adapted to life in Trevs amazingly well. They have ensured that many of our regular events go from strength to strength. Our first major event (after Induction Week) was our Inter-MCR formal. I think it is safe to say that the night was a huge success, with over 180 representatives from across the colleges of Durham attending the day after Castle Inter-MCR formal! The formal included a fantastic performance from Trevs alumnus Tim Hurst and his jazz band. As a common room, we continue to get involved in events around college with both the JCR and SCR. We have been oversubscribed for our MCR/SCR research buffets and had record turnout for SCR formals. Our members have also participated in new events such as the undergraduate dissertation event that allowed undergraduates to present the beginning of their dissertations to a friendly audience that could also offer feedback.

For the year ahead, we are looking forward to continuing our GM Trevelyan Research prize and our associations with Wallington Hall, the ancestral home of the Trevelyan family. In January we welcomed back graduating members of last year’s MCR. It was absolutely fantastic to see so many familiar faces. Congratulations to them all. If any of our previous members would like to visit I would strongly encourage them to. The MCR and College will always enjoy seeing old faces.

‘Within the first couple of weeks we had filled all of our committee roles, discovered that there is a hidden love for arts and crafts amongst our members and seen a group setup within our MCR for trips to the

local climbing walls.’

MCR Presidents Welcome

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Dr Sally Brown SCR President

The SCR has continued to expand, both in terms of numbers as well as activities. Our membership is growing steadily, and we welcome applications from new members. Alumni are, of course, very welcome; if you would like to join the SCR, you need to be nominated and seconded by two current SCR members who should then send the nomination to me or to the Membership Secretary, Mrs Janet Evans. As far as activities are concerned, we had an excellent evening, as always, watching this year’s College musical. We have also had some interesting talks from members of the MCR at our termly MCR/SCR research buffet. These evenings are a great opportunity for the SCR members to find out about the work that some of our postgraduate students are doing, and it enables the students to present their work to an audience from a range of different backgrounds and academic subjects, which I hope they enjoy as they usually have plenty of challenging questions to field! Our most recent talks took place in the newly refurbished Dowrick Suite, which is a great space now, with theatre-style seating. The SCR is part of the newly established College Research and Scholarly Activities Committee, and I am very keen to continue and develop cross-common room activities around research, as well as in other areas. We are looking forward to the summer term, and having new Fellows in College. We have had some great visitors this year so far, and for me one of the delights of the SCR and college life is the chance to meet people from around the world, who are experts in a wide range of topics and bring new perspectives and interesting conversations to the table when they join us for dinners. The JCR very kindly invited SCR members to join any of the JCR societies, and some of our members have taken up the offer as far as music is concerned. The Arts committee is a cross-common room endeavour already, as is the college debating society, so it’s great to have shared activities expanding across music and sport as well. The SCR has a cricket team with a number of matches lined up, including the third annual SCR/MCR vs JCR match, so if you’re a cricketer you’d be even more welcome to join the SCR! If you do fancy joining us, get in touch with the SCR Vice-President, Dr Jon Warren ([email protected]).

‘One of the delights of the SCR and college life is the chance to meet people from around the world, who are experts

in a wide range of topics’

SCR Presidents Welcome

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This year the Middle Common Room enters its third year of volunteering at Wallington Hall, a National Trust property situated in the beautiful Northumbrian countryside and the ancestral home of the Trevelyan family. This contribution takes the opportunity to reflect upon the time the MCR have so far spent building links with Wallington, the successes we have had to date, and what the future holds for our relationship with the property. The MCR’s link with Wallington was established in fact around four years ago, when a preliminary visit saw a small group of postgraduates set out on a (in hindsight!) rather ambitious task – to rebuild the boat that was in times past used on one of the lakes in Wallington’s grounds. This was, perhaps judiciously, quickly abandoned after logistical difficulties, and representatives from the MCR set about discussing a new set of goals with Trust staff. We were keen not to let early setbacks get in the way of our hopes to establish a close bond between Trevelyan MCR and Wallington, so a more realistic set of proposals were devised, centred around utilising MCR members’ enthusiasm for research, creativity and interaction. Thus, in our first and second full year of volunteer visits, the MCR undertook projects ranging from researching the history of certain parts of the grounds and house to assist the Trust in providing more engaging visitor experiences, to recreating the childhood play sets (Cowboys and Indians!) of the Trevelyan youngsters for use in a Summer family fun day held at Wallington, to assisting the Wallington Rangers with forestry work enabling new paths and walkways to be built, and to assisting with the running of events that the Trust put on for visitors. All the while we have been establishing ever closer relationships with the Trust staff at Wallington, and gaining an even deeper understanding of the property and wider estate. Both the Trust staff and MCR members have been extremely pleased with the work that we are doing at Wallington, and feedback on visits has been consistently positive. The residential nature of our visits (we stay in a bunkhouse on site which the Trust kindly allow us to use for free) has further helped to deepen our affinity for Wallington. All who volunteer with the MCR at Wallington agree that it is a thoroughly rewarding, engaging and entertaining experience, and as new generations of MCR continue to sign up for visits, we foresee that the mutual bond we have built with Wallington, the family home of George Macaulay Trevelyan after whom our College is named, will only continue to strengthen. As we enter another year of volunteering, we look forward to more projects along similar lines as before – we have already lent a hand in the Trust’s endeavour to plant 100,000 snowdrops in the grounds, and we have plans for further forestry and grounds work amongst other things. Our goal when we first made contact with Wallington was to learn about and appreciate the fascinating provenance of the Trevelyan name through providing assistance to the National Trust staff who run the ancestral home of the Trevelyans – we have had two successful years of doing exactly that, and a third year is well underway. We look forward excitedly to what the future holds for Trevelyan MCR and Wallington Hall. Oliver Bartlett (MCR Member)

Wallington Hall: The Trevelyan Family Home

MCR News

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Merchandise Amount Total Price

Pin Badge (£3.50)

Teddy Bear (£20)

Cufflinks (£18.50,

boxed)

Trevelyan College Tie

100% Silk

(£20)

40 years of Trevelyan

Book)

(£7.50)

TOTAL

We are delighted to be able to offer you a range of Trevelyan merchandise which can now be ordered from the College. Please fill in the form below, and return to College with a cheque payable to ‘Durham University’. If you have any questions regarding the merchandise, please do not hesitate to contact Natasha Gill at [email protected]. Please note, all prices include postage and packaging.

Please send completed form plus cheque to: Miss Natasha Gill Alumni and Development Officer Trevelyan College Elvet Hill Road Durham DH1 3LN

Trevelyan Merchandise

What’s happening at Trevs..? As always, Trevelyan students are busily involved in an array of activity (and some academic work!). Here is a taster of what has happened recently at the College…

In February, the College proudly hosted its first charity fashion show, organised by the eco rep Maria Fairbank-Azcarate. Speaking to The Bubble, an online publication, Maria stated “The idea behind the fashion show is to tell people that you don’t have to buy clothes from high street chains, you can buy clothes from charity shops and give them a new lease of life.” And this is exactly what was created! The models used their own clothes, or those of a friend, and some wore pieces bought from local charity shops. Tickets included a sparkling reception, as well as both wine and nibbles on the table! A donation from the profits of the show was given to FoodCycle, a national charity with a team that works in Durham creating hot three course meals from surplus food, for guests who often come from vulnerable backgrounds. All in all, a fantastic evening of entertainment, awareness and fashion!

Want to keep up to date with everything happening at Trevs? Why not check out our

blog www.allthingstrevs.blogspot.co.uk

Trevelyan News

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Trevelyan was lucky enough to welcome a new event organised by students entitled ‘Lunar New Year Night Market’, celebrating Chinese New Year. Here you could find Traditional Chinese Food, Zodiac Sign Fortune Telling, Origami, Tea ceremony and Games. You could also find out your names in Chinese and have it written out in beautiful Chinese calligraphy by our very own members of Trevs! On top of that, you had the chance to put on some traditional clothing from China, Japan and other countries, and performances were held in the dining hall throughout the evening!

In December, the annual Informal Ball returned, this time entitled ‘Party Like the Ancients’. As always, students came up with creative ways to capture the theme through their costumes, and the social committee did a fantastic job at decorating the College! As always, a number of entertainments were organised, including inflatables in the dining hall, a drinks reception, Santa's grotto, popcorn, candyfloss and a chocolate fountain! One of the highlights, was of course a ‘mummy’ playing the piano for one of the many fantastic bands!

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TCMS presents ‘My Favorite Year ‘ Trevelyan College Musical Society, the company that brought you Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes , performed a musical you probably have not heard of before in February 2015 and, as usual, they brought the house down! The story follows the life of freshman writer, Benjy Stone (played by the fantastic second year Theologian, Nick Denton) who narrates the all-singing all-dancing memory of his favourite year. Throughout the show we see that Benjy’s dad left him when he was very young, his mother married a very small bantamweight wrestler from the Philippines, Rookie Carroca (played by Joe Stanton). Benjy tells at the start of the musical of his love for the pictures of Alan Swann (played by esteemed fresher Will Emery) who then comes to America for a sketch on the ‘King Kaiser Comedy Cavalcade’. By far the runaway successes came from the fresher's, who continually improve year on year. Sadie Kempner and JJ Bute played a comical duo from the King Kaiser Comedy Cavalcade show (for which Benjy is a writer), their relationship was somewhat turbulent and Alice (Kempner) executed her role absolutely flawlessly. Exceptional performances also came from Annie Davison, playing Benjy’s love interest – K.C. Downing - alas the plot leads to numerous moments of will they won’t they (plot spoiler – they will!). The first night of the show saw a cameo appearance from a window prop that would not stay up *big laugh*, one which audiences would not forget in a hurry! Brilliant reviews were given, the production team were very happy and the cast put on, as always, a thrilling show which has become the norm for the only college production to be cast, have a band, front of house team, and crew completely from its own college. TCMS will be putting on a summer show this year, ‘Shout! The Mod Musical’ – to be performed on the 15th & 16th of June in the dining hall. Do come along, and email Tom Mack for tickets ([email protected])! Enya Doyle TCMS Musical Director 2013-2015

Trevelyan College Music

‘Benjy Stone was played marvellously by second year Nick Denton whose comic delivery, strong singing and natural presence during scene-changing monologues was outstanding.’ (Palatinate Review)

Everyone involved with this production should be incredibly proud. They appeared to enjoy themselves immensely, and this was reflected in the laughter of the audience. (Palatinate Stage Review)

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Three Choirs Concert 2014 saw the first celebration of the choral brilliance that we boast at Trevelyan, under the direction of Alex Peckham and Josh Green this concert made a return this year. On Sunday 8th of March the Chamber Choir, Acapella and Choir joined together to showcase their performances this year. Chamber Choir, fresh from their evensong at Ripon Cathedral started off the concert with an SATB tribute to Martin Luther King, by Bob Chilcott, with a beautiful solo line from Alex. This was followed by a performance of Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap conducted by the choir’s Musical Director, Sorrel Brown. Acapella who performed Northern Lights by Oja Gjeilo followed this and Trevs Choir joined in. It ended with a combination of the choirs singing together. It is always a delight to celebrate the talents of our students at Trevelyan. Trevelyan may pride itself of many things, and our ability to make music is rightfully one of them.

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Trevelyan College Societies

The Trevelyan College Photography Society meets every weekend, and it is for everyone who shares different interests in photography. In the past year, we had run beginners workshops for those who has just entered the fantastic photography world. We have also done Event photography, Portraits, Fashion shooting, Smoke photography, Photographers appreciation, Film photography and even developed our own film! Besides that, we had organised a daytrip to the Alnwick Castle, as well as the popular ‘Colour Day’ during exam period in which we throw paint powder around and make giant soap bubbles to release stress. This term, we are holding a Bar Exhibition of photos that carry stories behind them, so as to get more people into thinking about photography as a media of communication. There is also going to be some Food photography, Surreal photography, Human body painting and a Newcastle daytrip coming up! (Venus Loi, President)

Trevs Orchestra is thriving this year with both old and new members coming together to form a good-sized orchestra. Our weekly rehearsals provide a relaxed and enjoyable opportunity to play in an orchestra and we have achieved high standards, culminating in the Prof saying after our last concert that it was the best Trevs orchestra has ever sounded. This coming term we are looking forward to our ‘Night at the Movies’ concert’! (Jessie Fieth, President)

Trevelyan College Running Club is new this year and has attracted interest from over 80 people, in all years of the college. We are now meeting regularly each week and the club provides both a sociable and relaxed environment to run in. We are hoping the club will continue to expand in future years and become a key society in college. (Lucy Arkinstall, President)

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The boat club has thrived this year, building from a disappointing regatta season to achieve some excellent results through the winter head races. The men’s side of the club have consistently been amongst the top college fours, highlights including 3rd place in IM3 at Tyne head and 2nd fastest college at Rutherford, the 2nd IV beaten into 3rd in the novice division only by university crews. This was followed up with victory at York Small Boats Head to provide plenty of optimism for the New Year. The women’s squad, beset with injuries, nevertheless produced a strong showing at White Rose head and look to have recovered ahead of a busy period of racing. The Novice programme, once again hugely popular, has developed well and performed admirably at Novice Cup: one women’s crew lost only to the winners having battled to the semi-final. TCBC eagerly anticipates the regatta season and the sun!

In light of the success of the Chamber Orchestra’s debut concert for Remembrance in November, they returned for their second performance of the year in the newly refurbished Dowrick Suite. A concert of two, equally sublime halves began with ten soloists from varying years and degree subjects at Trevelyan. Importantly, half of these solos included a first year student. Every year the fresher contingent of Trevs music grows stronger and stronger and I’m proud to say that this year was no different. The Orchestra will be touring to Ireland in summer term, and if any of you are based in or around Dublin don’t hesitate to get in touch regarding our performances ([email protected]) . (Enya Doyle, President)

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Chris Pocock It seems there was not an area of College life that Chris was not involved in. From Trevs Cabaret, unplugged, Trevsmas and Trevstock, Ball and Social Committee, and a number of societies, Chris then took up the roll of Fitness Rep in his second year and became a pivotal member of many sports teams. Chris represented Trevs in the A pool team, rugby and skiing, not forgetting his involvement in Chess Club! As well as this, Chris was involved with the DU Rifle Club, also holding the position of social secretary and Small Bore Captain. Despite all of this, Chris’ true forte has been his endeavours for charity, and remains the most successful DUCK rep the College has ever had; raising over £14,000. This joins his individual accolade of “Best RAG-raider”, in which he raised over £1000 alone. He led an expedition to Nepal, was the Challenges Officer for central DUCK and even streaked naked through a lecture theatre after auctioning his dignity! After graduating with a masters in Engineering, Chris then became Development Officer for the Students Union, through which he created a long term training and development plan. He also prepared and delivered the first ever Durham University-wide JCR Exec training, the success of this being down to his extraordinary ability to always go above and beyond what is expected in time, commitment, quality and quantity. Despite the dedication to his degree and his work, Chris committed himself to College and University life beyond education, not once uttering a word of complaint. Despite his busy schedule, he was always willing to stop and chat, and his incredible efforts at College and University level make it very difficult to find a student who has not directly or indirectly benefitted from something has been responsible for.

Every year the JCR awards life membership to individuals who have made a tremendous contribution to both College life and the University in general.

2014, yet again, saw two outstanding individuals praised.

Full Colours Award

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Pip Harland Pip has embodied Trevs since 2010! Upon arrival Pip became an active member of choir, jazz, orchestra, stings and the Musical, then going on to co-found two new societies, Trevs Chamber Singers and Acapella, and later ‘Barbieshop’. As well as this, Pip was an active member of TCBC (and was club secretary), she played Hockey (for both the men’s and women’s teams) and tried her hand at lacrosse. Pip has also been key in developing a number of brand new College events, from Songs from the Shows, and to subsequent cabarets, to playing in the pit of two University musicals and a number of performances with Durham University Palatinate Orchestra. Pip continued her commitments with a lot of these successful societies throughout her third year, adding the role of Events Treasurer, overhauling the way events are run financially in College, as well as being a member of Social, JCR, Welfare, Ball, Finance and Music Committees. Pip has also been a vital component in Trevs Musical, holding the position of Musical Director in her second, third and fourth year. This is a huge commitment to take on once; to do it three times is unprecedented. Pip was offered a role at the bar as a junior server at the beginning of her first year, then becoming a member of the Senior Servers Committee, and later Administratibe Vice-Chair in her third year. She had more than double the number of rotaed hours as any other member of bar staff although the actual number of hours she has devoted to the bar will likely be at least double that. It is also safe to say that the coffee bar would not have been possible without her. In third year, Pip then took up the position of JCR Treasurer, a role that is infamously difficult and time-consuming, a role which Pip took on with an impressive vigour, and became a vital player in the smooth transition of the JCR from an Independent Charitable Organisation to a Durham Students Organisation. It would be wrong to assume that Pip merely excelled in extra-curricular activity. For instance, she was awarded the Arup Design Prize for civil engineering in 2013, which subsequently landed her a job with the company. The ability of this individual to inspire, encourage and lead, whilst maintaining a level of integrity, honesty and friendship is quite staggering.

Full Colours Award

‘The ability of this individual to inspire, encourage and lead, whilst maintaining a

level of integrity, honesty and friendship is quite staggering.’

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Sunday 1st March marked a very significant day for Trevelyan College Boat Club and the college as a whole as the new boat, Carpe Diem, was launched. The boat, an eight, was purchased as a result of a very generous donation by the Bygate family in memory of their son Chris, who tragically passed away in 2012. Around fifty family members, alumni and current members of the college gathered at Durham Amateur Rowing Club to celebrate the launch of the eight and to remember Chris. Despite the afternoon holding understandably mixed emotions for those assembled, the day was a great success: the name-stickers were attached and the traditional champagne poured over the bow as both Mike Bygate and I said a few words to complete the ceremony before everybody retired to a buffet lunch. Along with a memorial plaque to go in the bows of the boat, ensuring that Chris’ memory will continue to abide with the club and (hopefully) be carried to victory regularly, Mike and Ann were kind enough to also donate a photograph of Chris to the college which is to be hung in the bar. Although unfortunately the river conditions on the day did not allow Carpe Diem to be physically launched, its first outings in the week that followed were very successful, disregarding the snow that the men’s squad faced on the Monday morning and a few teething problems as the new parts all settled into place. Already Carpe Diem has become a major part of the club, both for the present and in the future as we move toward summer term and regatta season. I am certain that I speak for the whole of TCBC when I say that Carpe Diem, its name fittingly chosen by the Bygate family, is an amazing addition to the club. The boat will not only allow us to participate in more regattas, many of which are aimed solely at eights, but will also promote participation in rowing within the college. The attraction of such a fantastic boat will boost interest from beginners, the ability to have more people rowing at a single time will reduce the strain on coxes and coaches, and also the success of the racing squads will be boosted by our ownership of the best boat in Durham. Sadly Carpe Diem’s racing debut on 14th March was cancelled owing to flooding in York, however the boat will see its first competitive appearance at the Head of the River Race in London on 29th March, an internationally renowned event to which the college has not been for several years. Following this Carpe Diem is sure to have a busy summer schedule as both the men’s and women’s squads look to continue their winter head racing success into a packed regatta season. It is important to end, however, on a note of thanks to Mike and Ann Bygate in particular, along with the whole of the Bygate family, for their extraordinarily generous donation to the boat club; to all of the alumni who were able to attend the launch party; and those current members of the club who also joined to celebrate Carpe Diem: thanks also to Professor Evans for coming down. Trevelyan College Boat Club are honoured to have been chosen for such a donation in Chris’ memory, and Carpe Diem will ensure that Chris Bygate will never be forgotten by Trevelyan College. Will Everett Captain of Boats

‘Carpe Diem’, in memory of Chris Bygate

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Lauren Finch is reading Chinese Studies, and is

spending her 3rd year abroad studying at Peking University, Beijing. She is a recipient of the

Helena Margaret Biss and Greenwood Merit Scholarships

from Trevelyan College.

From Palatinate to Peking One of the biggest ways that Alumni assist our current students in their

academic work is through donations to our bursaries programmes. The Trevelyan Trust Travel Bursaries are funded directly through gifts to the Trust, and other alumni have dedicated larger sums of money to fund scholarships based on their own personal interests. Below, some of our current students say how bursaries have enhanced their experiences.

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Peking University is home to the brightest and best students of a country of 1.3 billion people. It exudes excellence, and the atmosphere is therefore slightly manic as brains jostle to win class prizes or excel in compulsory music lessons. The pressure cooker that the local students seem to thrive in does not extend to the international students, who are segregated in both accommodation and sports teams; foreigners are not allowed to represent Peking University in any sporting activity, as I found out when attempting to join the Peking University Liverpool Football Club Supporters’ Team. Whilst international students are not pushed to the same degree as the local students, it is undeniably a step up in both hours and strictness of teaching. Including two hours for an extra listening class, I had twenty hours of Mandarin language tuition a week in my first semester. Next semester I expect more, as I’ve signed up for English-language taught electives on China’s economy and history. Classes start at 8am, with room in the timetable for classes until 9pm, and teachers ensure attendance by deducting points from the final module mark, depending on the legitimacy of a student’s absence. While this draconian strictness and unthinkable number of hours differs greatly from Durham, I cannot fault the efficiency of the system – my Mandarin level has increased greatly and my confidence improves every day. Aside from the well-documented environmental and pollution issues, Beijing is a wonderful city to live in; weekends can be spent exploring its numerous cultural sites such as the Wall or Forbidden City, or enjoying the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan shopping centres such as Wangfujing. I personally have enjoyed spending time in Beijing’s charming ‘hutongs’ – narrow streets and alleys lined with traditional courtyard houses. Whilst the number of hutongs has decreased since the mid-20th century in favour of new apartments to house China’s ever increasing population, some have thrived after large investments were made to ensure the survival of these traditional areas. My personal favourite is Wudaoying Hutong, which houses copious coffee shops and teahouses, as well as a famous ‘cat café’. Many an hour and renminbi has been spent here, feverishly revising my characters for the monthly tests… Throughout my first semester, I have also managed to fit in a trip to the China Open, the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, the Bund in Shanghai, and even spent a week in Japan. I’ve learnt and experienced so much, and I’m looking forward to what the next five months will bring! More information about Lauren’s experiences in China can be found on her blog at www.pekingfinch.wordpress.com.

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Teegan Docherty 2nd year PhD student in the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, travelled to South Africa for six months to help collect data for her work.

Alumni, Thank you for your support…

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With the generous support of the Marion Zunz and Trevelyan Trust Travel Bursary I was able to travel to South Africa for six months to collect data towards my PhD. These trips are vital to my project and, ultimately, to the completion of my PhD thesis. Not only did this travel allow me to complete essential field work, but it also enabled me to network with other biologists and researchers in South Africa. All told these opportunities have expanded my learning and collaborations far beyond the University of Durham. The South African savanna is home to exceptional wildlife and is recognized worldwide as an important priority for conservation. Savannas are one of the most threatened biomes on earth as a result of limited land protection and habitat degradation. A major threat to savannas is inappropriate fire regimes and uncontrolled wildfires. Fire is a natural component of the savanna ecosystem and contributes to shaping and restoring the landscape. Many National Parks and private reserves use prescribed burning to mimic natural fires and to improve grazing opportunities for large mammals. Yet, surprisingly, even for those mammals that fire intends to benefit, little is known in South Africa about the response of savanna wildlife to a burned landscape. My PhD research looks at how these prescribed fires affect mammals, birds and insects. My fieldwork takes place at Mankwe Wildlife Reserve and Pilanesberg National Park in North West Province, South Africa. I arrived in South Africa in August 2014 during the fire season and was able to assist with a number of prescribed burns. Following the burns I began my data

collection in the burnt and unburnt habitats. On some days my fieldwork included a walked 4-kilometre transect where I recorded all mammals seen. On others, I visited different sites to survey birds or capture insects using nets and traps. This data will help me understand how wildlife responds to different characteristics of the fire event, such as time-of-year, size, frequency and fire intensity. A day’s work in South Africa is not without its challenges, however, with 40◦C weather, poisonous snakes, and many other dangerous animals. Yet, this work is truly rewarding and full of incredible surprises on each outing into the field. With continued use of fire regimes for conservation and increased likelihood of fires due to climate change, it is important that we understand the effects of fire. This will allow us to develop clear conservation strategies for protecting savanna wildlife and other vital ecosystem processes around the world.

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A Month with the Maasai

Third year, Jenny Fowler, took a trip to Africa this summer with the help of an SCR

Student Travel Bursary. Knowing the difficulty of finding clean drinking water in Africa, I found an opportunity with Durham DUCK to travel to the foothills of Mt. Meru in Tanzania. While there the team and I built two 5000 litre water tanks, rebuilt a classroom and helped teach English in a government run primary school. After 7 months of fundraising, (many thanks to everyone who helped and donated including the SCR for their generous “Third-world country” grant and the JCR for their contribution to my visas) I was able to leave England and set off on an almost 2 day journey that included sitting on a coach for 14 hours - just to reach our destination! After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at the rural maasai village that would become our home for four weeks and had formal introductions with the FutureSense volunteers who supported us during the volunteering, as well as during the weekends where they introduced us to a beautiful country. As a team we were also introduced to the Thesha family, who took care of us during our stay. During our time in the village, the water constantly ran out. This highlighted the significance of the project as the water was needed for both drinking and many of the daily activities of the families that lived on the school site such as cooking and cleaning. Schoolchildren were sent on a forty minute walk to fetch water so building could continue, but it was clear that what we were doing was important. The team was also introduced to the difficulties of teaching in Olbak, primary school. There were between 50 and 80 children per class, with a lack of resources such as textbooks, paper and electricity and the teachers were extremely challenged but eager to find new ways to teach

English. While building we were introduced to a number of fundis, or builders. Emmanuel helped us to rebuild the classroom and was one of the team’s favourites. To begin with, our only form of communication was through Jordan, a FutureSense volunteer, translating for us. However by the end of the month, we had learnt some Swahili from Emmanuel, and his English improved. This allowed us to have a delightful afternoon drinking chai (a delicious traditional spiced tea) at his home in the village near the end of our stay. A highpoint of volunteering in Tanzania was seeing the local, colourful culture. We often went to the main northern town, Arusha, via a dale dale (pronounced dar-ley dar-ley) the public transport that makes the underground look spacious and calm. Some of the team also visited the national parks and conservation areas, and we were not disappointed by the wildlife we saw, including black rhino and over 50 elephants in a single day! While I hope what we have done together over in Tanzania has made a difference, however small, what this trip has made me grateful for forever more, are hot showers.

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Clare Winstanley (English, 1974-1977) After graduating from Durham, Clare trained to be a teacher at the College of Ripon and York St John, and went on to become a primary school teacher in York before having a family. Clare then became a Learning Support Tutor, leading to the set up and running of a dyslexic unit at the school for nine years. Having worked in primary and secondary education, Clare then took up a post in tertiary education as a Dyslexia Tutor in York College of Further and Higher Education. Clare has since written a book for children entitled ‘Spelling Made Magic’, a treasury of tips and tricks to help with the vagaries of English Spelling! Clare is now a dyslexic tutor, and is currently working at the University of Huddersfield with dyslexic students and still enjoys making spelling fun, more manageable and memorable.

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Since graduating in 2013 from Trevelyan College, Chris Guard has enjoyed journeying

into the world of musical direction. 32

Anyone who knew me during my time at Durham and Trevs will know that the vast majority of it was spent in front of a piano and relatively little was occupied by my mathematics degree. Music, particularly musical theatre, was always a prominent part of my life, and I desperately wanted that to continue whilst at university despite deliberately choosing to not study it. In fact, this was possibly the main reason why I specifically applied to Trevs, what with its strong reputation and output in the performing arts, in the first place. Little did I know that my time and experiences in Durham would be the start of what I now do full time. During those four years, as I became more involved in the musical and theatrical life of the university and the city, it gradually dawned on me that a career in mathematics wasn't what life had in store, leading to my choice to audition for one of the two places on the year long Musical Direction & Coaching postgraduate course at the Royal Academy of Music. Somehow (and I still wonder how!) I was offered a place, and began what was possibly the most intense year of my life almost straight after graduating from Durham. Plenty of fourteen hour days of classes and performing later, with constant studying and work outside of that, I finally left 'student-dom' behind and began a career as a freelance musical director, mainly working in theatre. Like most professions in the performing arts, there are two things that always seem to hold true. The first is that you can find yourself with nothing to do one week and be completely swept off your feet the next. Secondly, and perhaps the most frustrating, sometimes it's not necessarily about what you know but rather who you know. Thankfully, I was very fortunate to make several key industry contacts during my time at RAM, one of whom offered me my first professional job as Associate MD on Alan Ayckbourn's new musical 'The Boy Who Fell Into A Book' in Scarborough over the summer following graduation. Since then, I've moved back down to London and have kept myself as busy as possible with MDing, new musical workshops, repertoire coaching and teaching, accompanying, music preparation and copying, and arranging for a variety of performers, institutions, and professional productions, some of them being in the West End and for television. I would be lying if I said that it isn't exhausting and occasionally a little scary, and also that maybe in a few years time things might end up not working out. But, for now, I can say I really love my job, and I owe the fact that I get to do this for a living to so many things. Going to Durham and Trevs comes pretty close to the top of the list.

‘I can say I really love my job, and I owe the

fact that I get to do this for a living to so many

things.’ 33

Congratulations Ruth and Emily!

We are delighted to share the news that Ruth Barron (Class of 2004) and Emily Spencer (Class of 2004) married in July 2014! Ruth and Emily met whilst living at Trevelyan, and formed a relationship in their first year. Ruth and Emily celebrated a beautiful day with family and close friends, including Becca Conway and Lynn Pelly (nee Anderson), both Durham graduates, who were asked to do a speech during the big day! Ruth and Emily had a wonderful and happy day, sharing many giggles - particularly at the couple who had to sneak out of the ceremony after joining the wrong wedding, and at Ruth for dropping Emily's ring mid-ceremony! We wish you many years of love and happiness together, Ruth and Emily.

Eve Poole (Theology, Class of 1993) Alumnus Eve Pool has taken an inspiring journey since her time at Trevelyan. Since graduating with a BA in Theology at Trevs, Eve started her career working for the Church Commissioners in Westminster, which was followed by an MBA in Edinburgh. She then became a Management Consultant with Deloitte in the City. Following this, Eve joined Ashridge Business School to teach leadership and ethics, and did a PhD at Cambridge on capitalism and theology! Eve has just released her book with Bloomsbury, ‘Capitalism's Toxic Assumptions: Redefining Next Generation Economics’, a fantastic culmination of ideas from a very talented alumnus. The book was written whilst she was pregnant with her twin daughters, and (luckily!) was finished just the week before the girls were born (pictured right)! 34

We are delighted to announce that Trevs alumnus Dr Alan Cooper has received the Queens Award for Innovation for his newly developed technologies! Dr Cooper attended a presentation at Buckingham Palace and received his award at a local presentation in Stockton. Alan and his wife Lucy met on their first day at Trevelyan, during the arrivals lunch with parents in the College dining hall. Lucy graduated with a Geography BSC, and became a teacher, then a deputy head. Lucy is now looking after their two children (aged 1 and 3), and often helps Alan run his successful business. Alan studied an MSC in Chemistry, and continued at the University until 2007, completing his PhD, which he wrote up on evenings and weekends between working with Johnson Matthew in Billingham. In 2010, due to restructuring and the closure of some businesses on the Billingham site, Alan and a collegue decided to set up their own business. This lead Alan to be the successful owner of Catalytic Technologies based in Stockton. The company currently sponsor PhD students in Durham, and have also employed another PhD Durham graduate to support their technical development.

Congratulations, Dr Alan Cooper!

Memoirs… Every graduate will have special memories of their time at Trevs. Here are just a few…

‘Rev Bevan was introduced to us at our first formal in the new building. He appeared to be the expected elderly smiley clergyman but his grace took the room by storm. After the formal introductions of the occasion he said the following grace which took him straight to everyone's hearts: ‘Good food, good meat, good God, let's eat!’ Not what anyone was expecting bit absolutely perfect.’ ‘I'm an original first year intake. In my maiden name of Arnell, you'll find my name is the very first one signed in on the roll. We were in the prison officers' building and I clearly recall 'Auntie Joan' very quietly telling me to use my best handwriting, which as a scientist was a big ask! We had such fun that first year but it's a great shame that Joan Bernard is no longer around to join in the celebrations. ’ (Cynthia Leslie, nee Arnell)

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We hope you enjoyed this year’s edition of Hippocampus!

We are always looking for feedback on how to make next year’s edition even better, so if you have any comments please contact the Alumni Office either on

0191 334 7016 or by emailing [email protected].

Thanks go to all the students and staff who contributed to this year’s magazine, especially Venus Loi and Trevelyan Photography Society, and special thanks goes to

Karen Fisher for her assistance with the editing and proofing.

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@trevsalumni

www.allthingstrevs.blogspot.co.uk

www.facebook.com/TrevelyanCollegeAlumni

Don’t forget to sign up to our career mentor scheme ‘ConnHEXions’ online to help the next cohort of

Trevelyanites have the best chance to start in the career

they want!


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