St. Edmund’s was my third incarnation in Cambridge. I first came up as an undergraduate to read Modern Languages at Newnham in the late 70s. I had just finished a two-year novitiate in a convent and was dressed in seventeenth-century widow’s costume. For my friends, most of whom had never Read more…
Having spent a large part of my 20s as a member and resident of St. Edmunds College, it is only natural to reflect upon how big a role Cambridge and particularly, Eddies, has played in my personal and academic development. I arrived a timid international student at St. Edmund’s College Read more…
As a junior doctor working on the frontline during the coronavirus outbreak, I have been especially reflective over these last few months. The crisis has made me re-examine what is truly important in my life and appreciate the little things. Moreover, it has made me feel very nostalgic about my time at Read more…
Eggshells and fireworks. It was 1869. Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon had founded Girton College, the first residential college for women in England. Only five women began their studies that year, but they still weren’t permitted to receive degrees. The year 1869 was significant for other reasons too. It was Read more…
I arrived at St. Edmund’s in 2017 to start an MPhil in Archaeology, having applied to read HSPS at Magdalene four years earlier and been rejected. I went to UCL to study Egyptian Archaeology instead, a degree I was far better suited to and enjoyed every minute of. A small Read more…
S.A. Thornton (MA, PhD Cantab)Matriculated 1982; BA 1983; MA 1985; PhD 1990 Besides getting a Ph.D. in Oriental Studies (yes, Oriental Studies, not Asian Studies), my goal was to have a real Cambridge experience. Like Scarlett O’Hara, I [was] going to have a good time! The prospects did not look Read more…
The following is not an account of degrees, awards, or extra-curriculars…if that’s the story you’re looking for go ahead and find me on LinkedIn. Instead, I’d like to take this opportunity to share what I hope to be a brief and heart-warming story of social mobility and the generosity of Read more…
When Dr. Sean Butler called me on New Year’s Eve to ask me to join the matriculation class of 2008, I sat down on the bed of our FEMA trailer and sobbed. As a Cajun girl from New Orleans living in the middle of the destruction left in the wake Read more…
Life Before Cambridge I was born in a small district in Jamaica to a large family of mostly males. My mother was a house wife and my father was a retired electrician and poultry farmer. My parents were of a generation of the lower middle class who believed in education. Read more…
Nevertheless, she laughed! As my PhD in Cambridge and St. Edmund’s is coming to an end, the most important aspect of my life here were the people who changed me, shaped me and taught me so much about life. I turned 30 during my PhD program. As a single Pakistani Read more…