Alumni Voices

Director of Modern Art Oxford, Paul Hobson, shares his experiences studying Modern History at Brasenose College and talks about how he transitioned into a career in contemporary art. Director of Modern Art Oxford, Paul Hobson, shares his experiences studying Modern History at Brasenose College and talks about how he transitioned into a career in contemporary art.

As well as reading Modern History at Oxford University, Paul also completed post-graduate studies in aesthetics and contemporary visual theory. Since then he has worked for more than twenty years in the art world in senior roles for the Contemporary Art Society, The Showroom, the Serpentine Gallery, and Royal Academy of Arts in London. He has been Director of Modern Art Oxford since 2013.

In this podcast, he discusses his time as Director of Modern Art as well as other well-known galleries, why he came back to the city after being an undergraduate here, as well as offering advice to prospects and students who are considering a career in arts management.

Ruth Hunt discusses her current role at Stonewall and offers advice to students who are considering Oxford as a LGBT-friendly university Chief Executive of Stonewall, Ruth Hunt, shares her experiences studying English Language and Literature at St. Hilda’s and offers an insight into what it was like to be an LGBT student and President of the Student Union at Oxford.

Hunt first joined Stonewall in 2005 as the Senior Policy Officer leading on research into homophobic bullying in schools. In 2014, she succeeded Ben Summerskill as Chief Executive. In 2015, she was voted the third most influential LGBT person in Britain in the Independent’s Rainbow List.

In this podcast, she discusses her current role at Stonewall and her commitment to transgender equality, as well as reflecting on the recent Olympics at Rio and how LGBT athletes were treated, as well as offering advice to students who are considering Oxford as a LGBT-friendly university.

Dr Oliver Cox shares his passion for England’s greatest landscape designer, Capability Brown, in an interview recorded for the tercentenary celebrations of Brown’s birth. In discussing Brown’s achievements and how he has been perceived over the generations Dr Cox offers a preview of his talk on 18 September during the tenth Alumni Weekend in Oxford. Dr Cox continues by explaining his love of Oxford, where he has completed three History degrees and is now employed as the inaugural Heritage Engagement Fellow at TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities. He describes the Thames Valley Country House Partnership – an organisation he created to link entrepreneurs in the heritage sector with researchers at Oxford – and even talks about appreciating Brown’s landscaping while competing in the Blenheim Palace triathlon.

Recorded only days after the EU referendum, this wide-ranging interview focuses on uncertainty in British politics and the transformative nature of an Oxford education. Baroness Shephard - a Remain voter - discusses the implications of Brexit and what the future might hold, as well as her own political career at the heart of John Major's Conservative government in the 1990s.

An alumna of St Hilda's College, where she read French and Latin, Baroness Shephard emphasises how studying at Oxford changed her life by broadening her horizons after her upbringing in rural Norfolk. She also praises Oxford University's outreach work, and the Alumni Weekend - an event she knows well from her position as the outgoing chair of the Alumni Board.

Freelance journalist and broadcaster Henry Bonsu shares his experiences studying Modern Languages at Magdalen College and offers an insight into what it was like to be a black student at Oxford in the late eighties. Bonsu started his career as a journalist with BBC radio in 1990, working on programmes such as Today, World at One, Public Eye, and Black Britain, before establishing himself as the anchor of the Drivetime programme on BBC London 94.9 FM where he would interview prominent celebrities and politicians. After famously being axed from the BBC for being “too intellectual”, Bonsu went on to be director and presenter of Colourful Radio, a digital station aimed at Europe's African and Caribbean communities. He has also written for The Times, The Mail on Sunday, Daily Express, and the London Evening Standard.

In this podcast, Bonsu reflects on his time at Oxford and why he wrote an article during his studies on ‘being black in the ivory tower,’ as well as offering advice to black students who might not think that Oxford is for them.

Kathleen Sullivan praises the tutorial system and her Oxford education, explaining how it has contributed to her successful career in academia and the courtroom. She shares her experiences as the former Dean of Stanford Law School, and refers to her work representing major companies in the US Supreme Court.

A Marshall scholar, Sullivan read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Wadham College in Oxford, where she developed her love of constitutional law, as well as interests in rowing and acting. She talks about the ‘enduring bond’ between alumni and their alma mater, describes becoming a named partner at the major law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan, and speaks of her faith in US political institutions ahead of the presidential race for the White House. This interview was recorded in Washington DC before the Alumni Weekend in North America in April 2016.

Comedian and broadcaster Ruby Wax shares her experiences of studying mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy and why she taken on a mission to save the world’s mental health. Wax started her career as a comic interviewer with shows such as Don’t Miss Wax, The Full Wax, and Ruby Wax Meets, and was also a script-editor for the popular TV series, Absolutely Fabulous. Since studying Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at Kellogg College, she has written two books about her interest in mental health and her own struggles with depression and anxiety; Sane New World, which became a number one best-seller, and her latest book, A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled. She has also received an OBE in the Special Honours for Services to Mental Health.

For this podcast interview, Ruby talks about her experiences at Oxford and how her studies in mindfulness based cognitive behavioural therapy have shaped the latter half of her career, as well as giving us a taster of what we can expect at the Alumni Weekend in Oxford in September 2016.

Multi-talented alumnus Tom McMillen describes his extraordinary life as a professional basketball player, scholar, politician and businessman. At 6’ 11’’ and from a sporty family, the American was always destined for basketball, and he played at the highest levels, including in the controversial final between the US and USSR at the Olympic Games in 1972.

A Rhodes scholarship to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at University College in Oxford followed, and he juggled his studies simultaneously with a professional basketball career. After 11 years playing in the NBA, McMillen embarked on his political career, serving three consecutive terms as a Democratic Congressman for Maryland.

In this interview, McMillen also reflects upon his ‘multiple career disorder’, discusses US politics, and predicts victory for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race for the White House. The interview was recorded at the Alumni Weekend in North America in Washington DC in April 2016.

Interview with Olympic athlete and public speaker Mara Yamauchi as part of the Alumni Voices Podcast series. Olympic athlete and public speaker Mara Yamauchi shares her experiences training for competitive sports and offers an insight into what it takes to become a world-class long distance runner.

Studying PPE at St. Anne’s College, Mara started her career as a diplomat with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and was posted to Tokyo for four years, before returning to her dream of becoming a full-time athlete at the age of 33. Her career highlights include winning the bronze medal in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games 10,000m, winning the 2008 Osaka Ladies’ Marathon, finishing runner-up in the 2009 London Marathon, and finishing sixth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (the joint best performance ever by a British woman in the Olympic marathon).

For this podcast interview, Mara talks about her career in sport and more recently as a coach and public speaker. Mara has an impressive athletic record as the UK’s second fastest female marathon runner of all time and has worked with BBC Sport, British Athletics, and the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.

Olympic athlete and public speaker Mara Yamauchi shares her experiences training for competitive sports and offers an insight into what it takes to become a world-class long distance runner.

Studying PPE at St. Anne’s College, Mara started her career as a diplomat with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and was posted to Tokyo for four years, before returning to her dream of becoming a full-time athlete at the age of 33. Her career highlights include winning the bronze medal in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games 10,000m, winning the 2008 Osaka Ladies’ Marathon, finishing runner-up in the 2009 London Marathon, and finishing sixth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (the joint best performance ever by a British woman in the Olympic marathon).

For this podcast interview, Mara talks about her career in sport and more recently as a coach and public speaker. Mara has an impressive athletic record as the UK’s second fastest female marathon runner of all time and has worked with BBC Sport, British Athletics, and the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.

Tim Harford shares his prize-winning economic insights, explaining why you can’t buy a decent used car and why you should exercise caution with big data. The author of the million-selling The Undercover Economist talks about the numbers of everyday life and his journalistic career, including writing for the Financial Times and presenting More or Less on BBC Radio 4.

In this podcast interview, the Economics Commentator of the Year for 2014 describes how his interest in economics developed unexpectedly. After his state school education, Harford studied PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at Brasenose College in Oxford due to a timetabling clash at an Open Day. Harford later wanted to drop Economics, but continued with the subject because of advice from his tutor. A Master’s in Economics followed, and today he maintains his links with the University of Oxford as he is a Visiting Fellow at Nuffield College.