Category: Alumni

Support UWE Bristol Fund

King Charles’ first New Year Honours list features UWE Bristol alumni

Alumni Team | 6 January 20236 January 2023

Some of our inspiring alumni have been recognised in the King’s first issue of the New Year Honours list and we couldn’t be prouder.

Take a moment to celebrate with us the hard work and dedication of these members of the UWE Bristol community.

John Akomfrah CBE (Honorary Graduate) received a knighthood for services to the Arts. John is a widely respected artist and filmmaker, whose work explores memory, post-colonialism, and the experiences of migrant diasporas globally. His show, Mimesis: African Soldier is sponsored by UWE Bristol and is on at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery until 8 January 2023.

Siân Griffiths OBE (Honorary Graduate) received a CBE for voluntary and charitable services, particularly during Covid-19. Deputy Chair of Gamble Aware, and Chair of both the Global Health Committee and Public Health England, Siân is an expert on global public health. She was active during the pandemic on local and national media as well as volunteering in the community.

Nicole Sapstead (LLB(Hons) Law) received an OBE for her services to sport. As Chief Executive Officer of UK Anti-Doping, Nicole delivered significant developments in the mission to protect the right to enjoy doping-free sport. Nicole is now Senior Director Anti-Doping at the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

Nolan Smith (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Stage 2) received an OBE for services to Higher Education. Nolan is currently the Director of Resources and Finance at Office for Students.

Dr Edson Burton (Doctor of Philosophy – History, Church, Race and Social Inclusion) received an MBE for services to the Arts and to the community in Easton, Bristol. A writer, academic and curator, Edson has written for radio and theatre and is currently the Heritage and Engagement Curator at Trinity Centre, having led a fundraising appeal to save the centre in 2018.

Nura Aabe (BA(Hons) Early Childhood Studies) was awarded a BEM for services to people with autism. Nura founded Bristol charity Autism Independence and has raised awareness of the condition in the Somali community as well as campaigning for better support for all children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Note:

Please let us know if we’ve missed someone who has been recognised in the 2023 New Year Honours list and is a UWE Bristol alum or member of staff. Email the team on alumni@uwe.ac.uk

UWE Bristol alumni – quick links

Support UWE Bristol Fund

The impact of donations to the UWE Bristol Fund

Alumni Team | 9 December 20229 December 2022

What is the UWE Bristol Fund?

The UWE Bristol Fund provides hardship grants for students facing severe financial difficulty, and funding for extra-curricular activities through student experience grants. The fund also provides seed funding for community projects involving UWE Bristol staff and students.

Generous donations from alumni and staff make up the fund. The resulting grants make that vital extra bit of difference, and have a lasting positive impact on the wellbeing of recipients. The fund enables experiences that not only transform the quality of the lives of students, but also those in our partner communities.

So, exactly what impact does the fund have?

In the academic year 2021/22…

46 students in financial difficulty were supported with Hardship Grants

10 Student Experience Grants were awarded benefitting 650+ students

9 Community Fund projects were supported with a total of £24,000

In the last year 5 years…

6,000 students in total benefitted from the Fund’s support

295 students have been given in excess of £121,000 through Hardship Grants

49 local community organisations partnered with students and staff

16 community projects focussed on environmental issues

An estimated 5,800 students have benefited from Student Experience Grants activities

Seven fund highlights from 2022

All made possible by donations from alumni and supporters.

1. Recipes of St Paul’s

This community art project used art and food to discuss family, culture and community. Students designed and ran creative workshops, a communal meal, mural and book trolley for the children and families that access St Paul’s Adventure Playground.

Artwork produced in workshop and completed mural

“The project showed me how a community can come together to create something and the lasting positive impact that can have. I since secured a paid position at the playground, so I can continue to build relationships and make art with the St Paul’s community.”
Mattie Goddard, BA(Hons) Drama with Theatre Directing student, volunteer spoken word workshop leader at St Paul’s Adventure Playground

2. New kit for UWE Women’s Rugby Union

“The grant that we received to pay for new kit, helped with the next steps into fielding two fully competitive teams, and in creating a long-lasting structure for development within UWE Women’s Rugby Union.”
UWE Women’s Rugby Union, Student Experience fund recipients

3. Creating Culture Programme

With the help of a Student Experience Grant, the Students’ Union supported a range of projects aiming to empower UWE Bristol students of colour, explore the rich history of multi-cultural Britain, and celebrate our fantastic diversity of cultures.

World Fiesta Day events formed part of the project, giving an authentic flavour of the cultures we have at UWE Bristol. Over 200 students attended Asia Day.

Asia Day celebrations on Frenchay Campus

4. Project ReGeneration

A multi-use green area at Barley Close Primary School in Mangotsfield was created through workshops led by UWE students and environmental education specialists WellGood Projects (a venture set up by UWE student Tawny Buck).

The school’s new outdoor resource has been enthusiastically welcomed by staff, students, parents and pupils and consists of an organic food growing area and a nature friendly zone.

The ‘green zone’, it’s growers and produce

5. Bristol Palestine Film Festival Mural

A mural was painted in Stokes Croft in February 2022 by UWE Bristol Fine Art students as part of the Bristol Palestine Film Festival’s (BPFF) Artist in Absence series. The mural marked 11 years of the Bristol Palestine Film Festival, a celebration of Palestinian culture and the power of international solidarity.

Created with the Bristol Mural Collective over a two-day period, the mural was based on an original artwork by the Palestinian artist Malak Mattar from Gaza.

“We’re really grateful to receive the funding for the mural project, without which it would not have been able to happen. The students were fantastic and really embraced the experience with enthusiasm.”
Cielle Bragg, BPFF

6. The story of Fem FM

History and Media students joined forces with Sound Women South West to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Fem FM, the UK’s first women’s radio station.

The project included the creation of a three-part radio documentary series sharing the story of Fem FM and running two community training workshops. The sessions provided women from disadvantaged backgrounds with the skills and support needed to pursue careers in the radio and broadcasting industries.

“We loved every second of it and have learnt many new skills and made connections with people in our relevant career industries which we feel will be invaluable later along the line.”
Libby Sharp, BA(Hons) History student

7. Anniversary draw raises funds for Student Hardship Grants

This year UWE Bristol celebrated 30 years of being a university. We organised a prize draw and 30 fantastic prizes were kindly donated from alumni and the UWE Bristol community.

100% of funds raised from ticket sales (more than £3,500) was donated to the UWE Bristol Fund to support Student Hardship.

How to support

Your donations are crucial if we are to continue to support our students; the next generation of leaders, thinkers and pioneers. Whatever the size, your gift is extremely valuable to us. Find out more about how to support the UWE Bristol Fund.

How to apply

Want to find out more about the UWE Bristol Fund and the funding options available? Visit our UWE Bristol Fund webpage for more details.

Education is a privilege

Alumni Team | 10 October 202210 October 2022

Anti-racist educator Aisha Thomas MBE, LLB(Hons) Law (2006), founder of Representation Matters, talks to us about her journey, her inspiration, her successes and what’s next.

Tell us about the start of your journey, studying law and your early legal career.

My journey initially was very much about law, justice, social justice and making sure that people in life really got a fair deal. If the world was oppressing you, I wanted to do something to change that.

After my degree, I worked with the Prince’s Trust National Offender Management Scheme, working with young people, particularly young boys in prison and helping them back into community.

My time there made me realise that education was a privilege. And I realised that if they could’ve been served the opportunity to experience education in a different way, perhaps they wouldn’t have chosen the pathways they did. I decided to give up my legal career and transition into education.

How did you get started in education?

I spent 10 years working in a secondary school in the inner city of Bristol, helping young people to really think about what the world could offer and provide for them. I built up training courses, beginning to challenge students and expand their minds. But I realised that their racialised experiences – that them being black and brown – was really impacting how they would navigate through the world.

And that’s when I thought about becoming a specialist leader in education for community, equality and diversity. I did a lot of anti-racist practice work within the education system, which then led me to say, ‘I need to do more’!

And that was the birth of Representation Matters, an organisation specialising in anti-racist practice, supporting young people, teachers, and corporate organisations.

What three things most inspire you in your work?

A young man I met in prison

In the prison environment I met a particular black boy. We were talking about why he was where he was. He said, “perhaps if you were my teacher, I wouldn’t be in prison today.”

He wasn’t talking specifically about me, but what I represented. All of his representation, all the people in society who were significant, were racialised as white and gendered as male.

I started thinking about under and over representation. He had seen an over representation of himself (as a black male) in crime, in media, and in sports. But he didn’t see himself in those pathways. So crime is where he took his chances and unfortunately, he ended up in prison.

Thinking about the under representation. Children could look up to doctors, engineers, teachers, biochemists and have aspiration. But often they’re not seeing people racialised like them in those job roles, so they think ‘those roles are not for me’.

2. My mum

She’s a primary school teacher. I didn’t realise back then the significance of the seeds she was sewing, by being a black representative in education. I look at my mum as inspiration, because she shows me that even when she didn’t see representation, she became what others needed.

3. My sons

As black boys, I already know how society can deem them. Representation Matters is about providing opportunities of black joy, so that they don’t only see themselves from a negative perspective, a place of pain and deficit, but they see themselves as young boys who can experience joy in all places.

What does success look for you?

It’s about having an organisation that is impactful, not just regionally or even nationally but internationally. And actually, changing the lives of the young people in the next generation.

It’s when I talk to teachers and leaders, and they say to me, “the training you’ve delivered has transformed my way of thinking and my way of being and the way I now teach”.

Success is when a child says to me, “my teacher now sees me, they now recognise my existence.” They now know that the child’s racialised experience, gendered experience, or sexuality are just as important as any other aspects of their identity, and that they see that as an important part of their curriculum.

Tell us about your relationship with UWE Bristol.

For me UWE Bristol has been a springboard.

I started to do some guest lectures with the education department, sharing my journey of what it meant to be a senior leader within practice.

That work grew, and I’ve worked with the department to develop an accredited course about inclusion for teachers in training. The programme is about ensuring that students understand anti-racist teaching practice, LGBTQ+ gender and intersectionality pedagogy. It’s not only innovative but also pioneering. We’re allowing teachers to be perhaps more equipped than the those they will be working with when they get into practice.

The course is now in its second year and will create a legacy beyond me, beyond Representation Matters. A legacy that will continue in education up and down the country. Now that is powerful.

Notes

Find out more about Aisha on LinkedIn and more about her work on the Representation Matters website. Her book Representation Matters – Becoming an anti-racist educator contains the voices of 30 different people who speak about their journeys in education.

Aisha is one of our 30 to watch, a list of inspirational alumni, staff and students. Each of these individuals have talent, persistence and passion. They’re all making important changes, not just in our community but in industry and society.

Seriously good prizes for a great cause

Play our 30th anniversary prize draw for your chance to win one of 30 fantastic prizes, kindly donated from alumni and the wider UWE Bristol community.

100% of funds raised from ticket sales will go to the UWE Bristol Fund to support Student Hardship Grants.

Buy a ticket and find out more about other ways we’re celebrating 30 years of being a University.

Win in our prize draw

UWE Bristol alumni – quick links

Prospectuses and print through the years

Alumni Team | 5 October 202213 October 2022

Communicating who we are and what we offer as a university has always been crucially important. Exactly how we do that has developed over the years.

Take a look back with us at our old prospectus covers. We’ve come a long way as a university.

1993 prospectus, Bristol Polytechnic, the new university in the West of England

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Communicating our identity

People need to hear all that’s great about us loud and clear.

Over the years, the emphasis has shifted and our brand positioning has gone through a bold re-imagining. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, we aim to improve public awareness of UWE Bristol and our reputation.

A brand is much more than a logo and a colour palette. Every successful brand has a powerful brand message behind it. It’s what sets out an organisation’s ambition, motivates its people and attracts everyone else.

Our brand identity encapsulates what’s great about UWE Bristol – providing clarity as to why we’re different from other universities and why people should want to be part of our ambitious and progressive institution. We have incredible stories to tell.

How the design process has changed

Back in the 1980s, graphic design was entirely analogue and involved a set of physical skills. Designers sketched layouts, and used rulers, scalpels, and set squares. Huge advances in technology have transformed the processes over the years.

In the early 1990s, Photoshop arrived on the scene, allowing designers to experiment with new techniques. The internet became publicly available which changed things forever – graphic design was no longer just for print, but web too.

During the 2000s design tools became even more powerful and designers created for portable devices, such as smartphones. At UWE Bristol we now primarily produce digital prospectuses, rather than printed, which can be accessed across all device types.

Fill in the gaps?

We’ve looked high and low for old prospectuses and print, and brought them together to share with you. We don’t have every year covered, so please email alumni@uwe.ac.uk if you can help us complete the set.

Seriously good prizes for a great cause

Play our 30th anniversary prize draw for your chance to win one of 30 fantastic prizes, kindly donated from alumni and the wider UWE Bristol community.

100% of funds raised from ticket sales will go to the UWE Bristol Fund to support Student Hardship Grants.

Buy a ticket and find out more about other ways we’re celebrating 30 years of being a University.

UWE Bristol alumni – quick links

And still we lack the resolve our problems demand

Alumni Team | 3 October 20224 October 2022

^{Illegally logged hard wood in Nigeria © Hard Rain Project / Mark Edwards}

Mark Edwards is one of the most widely published photographers in the world. His pictures are collected and exhibited by museums and art galleries in Europe, the US and by private collectors. He’s recognised as the first photographer to focus on the environment and sustainable development issues.

Assignments for magazines, non-governmental organisations and United Nations agencies have taken him to over 100 countries during his 30 year career.

In 2006, he produced the Hard Rain exhibition, a collaboration with Bob Dylan. Hard Rain is one of the most successful environmental exhibitions ever created, attracting an audience of some 15 million people around the world.

Environmental refugees from rural Haiti going to school © Hard Rain Project

In 2017 Mark was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts (Hon DArt) by UWE Bristol in recognition of his commitment to communicating sustainability challenges through the medium of photography and via the Hard Rain and Whole Earth exhibitions.

Earlier this year he was awarded an OBE for services to Photography and to the Environment. Here he shares his response.

Swings and roundabouts, by Mark Edwards OBE

My phone rang just as I was starting to paint the banisters. It was my GP, sounding worried. My prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, a marker for prostate cancer, showed an elevated reading. She promised an urgent call from a specialist. “Right,” I thought, “get on with the banisters”.

As I got to the newel post in the hall, a heavy letter dropped on the floor behind me. I saw with alarm that it was on Her Majesty’s Service. Even more worrying, it had ‘Cabinet Office’ printed above my address. I’d been critical of Boris Johnson, but surely he couldn’t write to everyone who’s been on his case; the Post Office couldn’t handle the volume. I tore open the letter and saw to my amazement that the (then) Prime Minister had recommended me to “Her Majesty The Queen for the honour of the Officer of the Order of the British Empire”.

It must have been the Hard Rain Project (HRP) that caught the eye of the OBE nominator. I stepped into the arena with the Hard Rain exhibition in 2006 to show a vision of a world unravelling. The exhibition was hard hitting, as it needed to be. Bob Dylan’s poetic masterpiece A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, illustrated with pictures of dead and dying life, could only be justified when there was still time to step back from the precipice.

The HRP outdoor exhibitions reached millions around the world and showed how our environmental problems are linked by cause and effect and need to be tackled together. Hard Rain was a thorn in the flesh of those who offer hope to gloss over the scale and complexity of our problems and the opportunities this crisis offers to people who are prepared to face facts. There is nothing wrong with hope that is contingent on us all working together to deal with the environmental crisis. But hope, offered as timid reassurance, does not cut through the inertia to bring about the depth of response this crisis demands.

‘Heard the song of the poet who died in the gutter’ © Mark Edwards

In the early years of this century, we had that narrow window of opportunity to scale up solutions to deal with climate change and the interlinked problems now threatening to overwhelm civilization. In just the last few years, real-life news has overtaken the horror of the imagined future offered in Hard Rain. We are sleepwalking through heatwaves, droughts, floods, the destruction of habitats and species extinctions—and still we lack the resolve our problems demand. How stupid is that? Very.

There is a growing acknowledgement that it is too late to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees. In the face of this bleak assessment, a new generation of campaigners, school students, have found their voice. Will their uncompromising call for a radically new world-wide approach jolt political and business leaders and the silent majority into action? Our failure to respond adequately to our environmental problems so far shows that we do not really care about the prospects for children alive now, let alone future generations. We have put at risk the gains so painstakingly developed throughout our history for short-term advantage.

Children, Mexico City © Mark Edwards

I’m aware of being at the receiving end of many of those extraordinary developments. A few days after my GPs call, I was pushed gently into an MRI scanner. It brought to mind a sequence from a Woody Allen movie, and I started to laugh. I’m rolled out of the scanner and told off by a rather severe looking nurse. I quickly explain the joke; Allen’s character gets a headache, fears he has a brain tumour and demands a brain scan. He is rolled into a scanner, his face full of the crumpled despair he does so well. Next, the doctor greets him in the waiting room with the scan results: “There’s nothing wrong with you. Take an aspirin and have a lovely evening.” You see him running down the hospital steps, but as he reaches the pavement, he freezes. Cut to him with his girlfriend in his apartment, wringing his hands, “And I suddenly realised: I don’t have a tumour now, but I could have one at any moment.” Now we are all laughing at the uncertainty of life. It’s a lovely moment then it’s back in the machine for a very special kind of selfie.

A couple of weeks later I meet the surgeon who gives me the news: “So, Mark you have prostate cancer. But you’re an exceptionally fit 75-year-old man, you cycle to your hospital appointments, you’re gregarious and I have absolute confidence I will be able to operate successfully.”

I cycled home elated. I’ve spent 30 extraordinary years with people at the sharp end of the environmental debate in a hundred countries. If the photographs I, and my fellow photographers, have taken have helped show the need to take healthcare, proper housing and education to all – and deal urgently with global warming so that we can pass on our gains to future generations – that is the only thanks any of us need.

But I am grateful for this unexpected recognition the OBE offers and for the Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of the West of England. It gives me a chance to renew our message and thank Bob Dylan and his team at Special Rider Music and Sony ATV Music Publishing for their generosity and support.

And a further unexpected vote of thanks to everyone at the Urology Clinics at Kings College Hospital and Guy’s Hospital! I’ve never been in hospital so I’m discovering, late in life, the generosity and skill of NHS staff. It prompts a final note to gentleman reading this; may the PSA be with you. And if you don’t know your PSA score, book a blood test. Prostate cancer is really cancer for beginners—provided it’s caught early. I was just in time.

Mark Edwards

Hard Rain Project

Mark receiving his Honorary Degree in 2017

‘I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow’ © Mark Edwards

UWE Bristol alumni – quick links

Making a film with our friend George Ezra

Alumni Team | 21 September 202221 September 2022

_{Image: George Ezra and friends, courtesy of Lorton Distribution}

George Ezra’s film End-to-End premiered in UK cinemas this August bank holiday. Swathes of music fans sat down to watch the uplifting documentary which captures Ezra’s walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats. The filmmakers – Adam Scarborough (BSc(Hons) Human Biology) and Christy Tattershall (BA(Hons) Filmmaking and Creative Media) – met George during their time in Bristol. Christy tells us more…

Tell us about End-to-End

The film is about friendship, adventure and music. We walked 1,200 miles over 95 days, doing between 20 and 30 miles a day. We reconnected with each other and the country after months of isolation, and met amazing musicians along the way.

George Ezra and friends on walk, image courtesy of Lorton Distribution

How did you meet George?

Adam and I grew up in Dorset together. Adam left to study and met George at a house party, then they started living together.

I was visiting Adam every weekend and we all just got on really well. We would go to open mic nights around Bristol, watching George play. The crowds got bigger and bigger until one day he got signed, leaving Bristol but always staying in touch.

During that time, I was commuting to work everyday hearing George’s song Budapest being played on the radio. It was hearing and seeing George achieve this success that inspired me to quit my job and study Filmmaking.

What inspired you and Adam to team up as filmmakers?

Adam has always been obsessed with cameras and will rarely be found without one on his side. Although he was studying Human Biology, he was also making money as a photographer around the city whilst studying.

We started our first film company, Paint Studios, in my first year of university with a couple of pieces of kit and a computer. In my second year, I won a National Royal Television Society award for a documentary I directed. I fell in love with the process of documentary-making.

Then, during a summer break, we decided to walk to a film convention that was taking place in Amsterdam – recommended to me by my lecturer Dave Neal. We had no money whatsoever (also, no prior hiking experience) but fancied an adventure. We walked the 500-mile journey from Bristol, camping and filming ourselves every day. We didn’t know at the time, but this would later open the door for us to make George’s film.

Did you experience peaks and troughs when making End-to-End?

There were two distinct low points. One was at the very start in Cornwall. We fully underestimated how hard it would be to get our mileage done each day on that terrain whilst trying to make a film. It was baking hot, we were carrying filming gear and supplies and genuinely wondering (with 1,200 miles in front of us) what we had got ourselves into.

The second low point was walking across the Highlands when there was no real path – we were walking through wet bogs and mountains for up to 30 miles a day, whilst being eaten alive by midges. Then we’d step out of our tent the next morning, put on soaking wet socks and do it all again. Luckily that was at the end of the journey and not the start, because I’m not sure how long our morale would have lasted the other way around.

But after lockdown, just being with our mates, walking, talking and having a laugh together for 3 months meant there were so many highpoints. We went from camping in the field in front of the Pyramid stage on the empty Glastonbury site, to then filming an amazing Scottish folk band called Kinnaris Quintet at the foot of a mountain.

We had walked all that way and were listening to this incredible music, in a mind-blowing setting. That was a moment that stood out. It was overwhelming, but life-affirming.

UWE Bristol alumni – quick links

What happened next? Meet Kevin, 24 years after he featured in our prospectus.

Alumni Team | 20 September 20225 January 2023

Kevin Millwood featured in our 1998 prospectus. We came across his profile whilst looking through our archives and wondered what he did next. This is what we found out.

UWE Bristol 1998 Undergraduate prospectus, Kevin Millwood profile

Kevin has been a DJ, a night club organiser and owner and a Kung Fu practitioner. Now he’s Head of Information Security at Hargreaves Lansdown, an award-winning financial services company based in Bristol.

It’s clear Kevin’s a man with wide ranging skills and interests. So, what’s his true passion? His dedication to give back to the community of his hometown, Bristol.

Humble beginnings

Born and bred in Bristol, Kevin was an incredibly hardworking and promising student, however he lacked the funds to move out of home to attend university. He decided he would stay living at home, attend university and work at the same time to keep himself afloat. The first in his family to go to university, Kevin had no blueprint to follow. But that didn’t set him back. Kevin notes,

“University was easily the best time of my life”.

For the love of music

During his time at UWE Bristol he realised his love of DJing. Starting at the university winter ball his success spiralled and with a team of students he created a promotion company.

Friday night at Student’s Union, 1998 prospectus

In 2001 Kevin hosted a UK Press Club night for a record label, where he performed to a packed-out crowd. The night was hailed as best UK club event by the national press. He was asked to become promotions manager of a group of clubs, later running one, and even performing on Radio One Live.

Kevin DJing at event in Bristol in 2014

Head hunted

But he knew he couldn’t work in that industry forever. Kevin wanted to use the skills he gained in his degree and gradually gained more experience, moving up the ranks in IT roles, becoming a manager.

He applied to Hargreaves Lansdown but was turned down. This lit a fire within Kevin who worked harder than ever. Later they headhunted him for a job, and now he is their Head of Information Security.

Supporting young people to achieve

A trip to South America was Kevin’s epiphany moment, seeing poverty first-hand made him want to give back. He began by working to rehabilitate young people in the prison system, but felt he could do more.

Now Kevin is chair and mentor of ‘Stepping Up’, a Bristol based company that aims for fair representation, supporting people to reach where they want to be in their careers. He’s also chair of Bristol Reggae Orchestra and non-executive director of Lockleaze Sports Club, both local organisations close to his heart.

“I have mentored a lot of people and have learnt from them all. You get something back out of it too”.

He gives talks in schools about cyber security, helping to demystify the topic and encourage people to take an interest.

“I wouldn’t have gotten where I am without help. There are lots of underprivileged people who want to better themselves and they deserve help”.
Kevin states.

After a varied career, what Kevin values most is making Bristol a fairer place to be.

Tell us your story

What journey have you been on since studying with UWE Bristol? What are you passionate about?

We’d love to hear your story. Tell us what you’re doing now, share an old photo.

You can get in touch through our memories form or post on social media – tag us and use #30yearsofUWE

Seriously good prizes for a great cause

Play our 30th anniversary prize draw for your chance to win one of 30 fantastic prizes, kindly donated from alumni and the wider UWE Bristol community.

100% of funds raised from ticket sales will go to the UWE Bristol Fund to support Student Hardship Grants.

Buy a ticket and find out more about other ways we’re celebrating 30 years of being a University.

UWE Bristol alumni – quick links

Then and now: the story of a farm girl, a 900-year-old castle, and an executive coaching business

Alumni Team | 20 September 202221 September 2022

Growing up on a dairy farm in rural Wales, special days out for Marian were spent at Llansteffan Castle. Steeped in history and bound up with her heritage, it captured her heart. Years later, the same castle and estate is now her home and the base for her executive coaching business.

We talked to Marian and found out why the drive that won her such success has now brought her home again.

From farm-hand to top entrepreneur

Marian has never been scared of hard work. Mucking out cows on the farm is perhaps what gave her grit and determination. Coming from a family of ’home birds’ she was first to fly the nest and ’escape’ to university in England.

She arrived at UWE Bristol and soon settled in to her new home. She wasn’t sure where her course in Geography and Environmental Management would take her, or what her future held. But she took every opportunity.

“I think the biggest lesson I learnt at UWE was that if you work hard at anything and take every opportunity, you’ll progress and move in the right direction. You’ve got to learn resilience and how you work best. My time at UWE definitely set me up for the future.”
Marian says.

Not one to sit back, Marian began her property portfolio at 18 years old and had her first job before university results were out. She soon launched an impressive sales career, quickly making a reputation as an Expert Risk Manager.

To her surprise, in 2019 Marian was named Women in Business’ Inspirational Woman of the Decade. Now she runs her own company Elevate BC, coaching and mentoring business leaders.

Supporting women in business

Despite her clear success’ Marian admits to struggling with imposter syndrome. She finds it uncomfortable talking about her achievements. But her time at UWE Bristol taught her to be comfortable in her own skin and understand what her strengths are. And that’s the lesson she’s passionate to pass on to other women in business.

Marian pictured in Cardiff

Marian works with Women on Boards, who aim to help women achieve higher positions in male dominated areas, just as she did.

“I feel duty bound to share my story, give back and say, you can do this too! There are so few women pushing through to those higher levels in business, we’re not giving them the support to crack on to the next level.”
she explains.

And what of the castle?

Llansteffan Castle, on the river Tywi estuary in Carmarthen Bay

Despite her high-flying career, Marian’s attachment to Wales never left her. Perhaps it’s the same passion that led her to study Geography – a love of the natural environment, her heritage and her home land.

Marian and her Welsh husband quietly took a leap of faith when they saw that their beloved castle was for sale. They’ve since made the Llansteffan Castle Estate their family home and a base for business.

The castle is in safe hands – keen for it to remain at the heart of the local community, and be used for events, they’ve set about the restoration. It’s rich history and beauty will be protected and shared for future generations.

Tell us your story

What journey have you been on since studying with UWE Bristol? What are you passionate about?

We’d love to hear your story. Tell us what you’re doing now, share an old photo.

You can get in touch through our memories form or post on social media – tag us and use #30yearsofUWE

Seriously good prizes for a great cause

Play our 30th anniversary prize draw for your chance to win one of 30 fantastic prizes, kindly donated from alumni and the wider UWE Bristol community.

100% of funds raised from ticket sales will go to the UWE Bristol Fund to support Student Hardship Grants.

Buy a ticket and find out more about other ways we’re celebrating 30 years of being a University.

Win in our prize draw

UWE Bristol alumni – quick links

10 stories of love and friendship found

Alumni Team | 20 September 202224 October 2022

^{Kathryn and Matt Colledge on their first date}

University life is about the people as much as the studying. A time for creating memories and making lifelong relationships whether romantic or platonic.

Here are 10 stories from people who met a soulmate at UWE Bristol, told in their own words.

1. Kathryn and Matt Colledge

Kathryn Colledge (neé Williams) BA(Hons) Business Studies (1996) and Matthew Colledge BA(Hons) Business Studies (1996)

“I started at UWE in Sept 1992, making many new friends. I featured in the 1994 prospectus, alongside friends Sam and Matt. The three of us and three others then all lived together in our 2nd year.
I started going out with Matt in January 1994. Another friend Mark started going out with Vanessa and another friend David starting going out with Danielle. The six of us had an amazing time at UWE; we all graduated in 1996.
We’re all now happily married, with six children between us. We meet up regularly and always have a laugh. I cannot believe that our eldest son is now about to embark on his University life – time flies!”
Kathryn Colledge

Kathryn and Matt outside 2B025 on Frenchay Campus 1992 and at a reunion in October 2022

Kathryn and Matt revisit 2B025, the lecture theatre where they first met

Kathryn and Matt in 1994 prospectus (Matt pretending to be a lecturer)

2. Clare and Dave Melton

Clare Melton (neé Lee), BA(Hons) History (1999) and Dave Melton BA(Hons) English (1999)

Clare and Dave end of 1997 summer term, at the 1997 ball and in 2022 with their twins

“My husband and I met at UWE. We started in 1996 and were both in Bishop Monk Halls of residence on St Matthias Campus. We married in 2009 and had twins in 2015. We now live in North Somerset. Still in touch with others from our very happy years at UWE.”
Clare Melton

3. Fatema Deere and Nicole Jefferies

Fatema Deere, BSc(Hons) Biomedical Sciences (2005) and MSc Medical Microbiology (2010) and Nicole Jefferies (neé Dempster) BSc(Hons) Biomedical Sciences (2005) and MSc Medical Microbiology (2010)

Fatema and Nicole at UWE in 2003, at Fatema’s wedding in 2009 and Nicole’s wedding in 2017

“I studied here for both my BSc(Hons) Biomedical Sciences (2005) and my MSc Medical Microbiology (2010). I remember both times fondly – the great food, the great bar and great fun on campus on a Friday night!
I made great friends during my time at Frenchay Campus, one of whom, Nicole, is still a ‘bestie’. We were bridesmaids at each other’s weddings.
I achieved so much here and I’m still studying. I’m currently training to be a Consultant Clinical Scientist. Thank you UWE for setting me up both academically and personally”.
Fatema Deere

4. Dija and Hammed Ayodele

Dija Ayodele (neé Akpata) BA(Hons) Business Administration (2005) and PG Cert Personnel Studies (2006) and Hammed Ayodele BSc(Hons) Computer Science (2008)

Dija and Hammed at their graduation in and again in 2021

‘In 2002, our eyes locked in P block, travelled the world, got married and two children later and we’re still best friends. The vast majority of our friends are alumni too!”
Dija Ayodele

5. Clare Melton and Sara Macbeth

Clare Melton (neé Lee), BA(Hons) History (1999) and Sara Macbeth (neé Peters) BSc(Hons) Psychology with Health Science (1999)

Clare and Sara pictured in shared kitchen in halls in 1996, and in September 2022

“I met Sara when we both lived in Bishop Monk Halls of residence at St Matthias Campus. A great and enduring friendship was made between us and many others in Bishop Monk. Old friends are definitely the best!”
Clare Melton

6. Jamie and Natasha Warwick

Jamie Warwick, BSc(Hons) Forensic Computing and Security (2014) and Natasha Warwick (neé Winter), – BA(Hons) Education in Professional Practice (2014)

Jamie and Natasha at graduation in 2014, and with their daughter in 2022

“I met the wonderful Natasha while we were both working as Student Ambassadors in our final year in 2014. Nearly 8 years later, we have just celebrated one year of marriage and have also welcomed our daughter into the world!”
Jamie Warwick

7. Laura Corry and Kim Barnard

Laura Corry, BA(Hons) Marketing (2006) and Kim Barnard, BA(Hons) Marketing (2006)

Laura and Kim pictured at graduation in 2006, Laura’s wedding in 2011, and still friends in 2021

“I’m lucky that my two best friends are the friends I made on my course and in my first year house. I also met my husband on the patio outside Traders (now Starbucks)!
Kim and I were on the same course and met through mutual friends on a night out. Everyone else wanted an early night, but we both wanted to go dancing, so stayed out together. We ended up in Chicago Rocks on the waterfront (just to age us). The night ended with us swapping shoes, we have been best friends ever since.
We lived together in our final year, have travelled together, were bridesmaids for each other and are god parents for each other’s children. This year marks 20 years since we met! We might even go dancing and swap shoes to celebrate!”
Laura Corry

8.Toni- Marie and James Bonser

Toni-Marie Bonser (neé Jarvis), BA(Hons) Philosophy and Criminology (2012)
James Bonser, BA(Hons) Media and Cultural Studies and Philosophy (2012)

Toni-Marie and James Bonser pictured in 2012 and 2022

“I met my Husband at UWE. We were on the same course but mostly got to know each other through the centre for performing arts. We were both in the Showstoppers choir and did singing lessons. We met in our second week and finally got together right before graduation 3 years later.
We celebrated 10 years together in April 2022 and were married in September 2021 after postponing twice due to Covid. I have no idea where my life would have gone without UWE and I couldn’t be more grateful for my time and opportunities there.”
Toni-Marie Bonser

9. Peter and Charlotte Rhodes

Peter Rhodes, BA(Hons) Initial Teacher Education (Primary) (2004) and Charlotte Rhodes, BA(Hons) Initial Teacher Education (Primary) (2004)

“My wife and I met at UWE Redland campus in 2002 while both in the third year of a four year Qualified Teacher Status course. We both were in teacher training and were on final placement together in 2003. We have been married 20 years this year!
Charlotte is currently Acting Head of a primary school in Greenwich and I am CEO of a Multi Academy Trust of 6 schools in Bexley and Bromley.”
Peter Rhodes

10. Lizzie Fear and Adam Jenkins

Lizzie Fear, BSc(Hons) Psychology (2021)

“For my third year at UWE I had the option to go on a year abroad with Erasmus to Radboud University in The Netherlands. So I took that opportunity and had the best year of my life!
I learnt so much about the culture and myself and made some great friends with people of all different nationalities. I also met my soulmate on the front steps of our student accommodation there, and we’ve been in a relationship together since.
We now live together in a flat in Sheffield and I’ve never been happier. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to go on a year abroad with UWE and would definitely recommend it to anyone else!”
Lizzie Fear

Tell us your story

Did you find a soulmate during your time studying with UWE Bristol? We’d love to hear your story. Tell us what you’re doing now. Share an old photo, share a new photo!

You can get in touch through our memories form or post on social media – tag us and use #30yearsofUWE

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Buy a ticket and find out more about other ways we’re celebrating 30 years of being a University.