Alumni Interview: Rebecca Hellen (BA 1994), Specialist Advisor for Paintings Conservation at the National Trust

Posted on by Grace

As final-year Bristol students prepare to mark the end of their time at the University through online ‘Summer Celebration’ events, we caught up with Bristol alumna Rebecca Hellen (BA 1994), to reflect on her own time at the University. A graduate of the Faculty of Arts, Rebecca worked as Senior Paintings Conservator at Tate for 18 years, and has recently taken up a new role as Specialist Advisor and Paintings Conservator at the National Trust. She shares her career story and lends some tips for how to stay creative in lockdown.

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Renowned speakers to join Class of 2020 in Virtual Celebrations

Posted on by Ellie
Top row L – R: The Right Honourable the Baroness Hale of Richmond, Vanessa Kisuule, Sir Paul Nurse. Bottom row L -R: Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Jenny Griffiths MBE, Dame Julia Slingo.

From final-year medics graduating early to work on the NHS frontline, to groups organising foodbank donations, throughout this year Bristol students have been stepping up to assist those impacted by the pandemic. Many of our final-year students have been taking part in such activities, all whilst working hard to complete their degrees.

For these students, their time at the University is almost at an end. So, to mark their incredible achievements and commemorate their final year, the University is hosting a series of virtual celebrations for the class of 2020. The events will be hosted online and will see Bristol students from all over the world signing in from home to watch with their friends and family.

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Alumni entrepreneurs share their career insights with students

Posted on by clare.young

On Tuesday 16 June, over 150 students and graduates joined us for the first Bristol Connects Live – our series of online career and professional development events. With a focus on entrepreneurship, our alumni experts shared their career stories and experience to inspire students and recent graduates to help them understand more about starting up their own businesses, opportunities and pitfalls, and the different routes to entrepreneurship.

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Help to welcome our Sanctuary Scholars

Posted on by Ellie

Every year, just after welcome week, the University hosts a welcome event for our Sanctuary Scholars, an incredible group of students who all come from asylum-seeking or refugee communities.

The welcome event is always a really special day, where the newest cohort of scholars get to meet each other, as well as staff and students from the University.

This year, as you can imagine, we can’t welcome our scholars in quite the same way. But whilst we might not be able to be together in one room, we can still do our very best to let these students know that they are a valued part of the Bristol community. We hope you’ll join us in doing so!

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Become a Bristol Volunteer: Current Opportunities

Posted on by sophie.davison

At the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) we work with departments across the University to match alumni volunteers with relevant and rewarding opportunities. There are so many different ways to get involved as a Bristol Volunteer and all of them make a huge difference to our community. Whether you give your time or expertise, you will be helping to enrich the lives of students and graduates alike.

Current volunteering opportunities are listed below.

Could you share your career insight with our students?

Bristol Connects Live
We are looking for speakers to share their expertise at Bristol Connects Live, our new online series of career development events. If you would like to share your insights on your industry or ways of working, then we would love to welcome you as a panellist, subject expert or event host.

Panellist and event hosts will speak live, whilst subject experts will provide insight through the event text chat. If you are interested in getting involved or would like to find out more information, please contact the Bristol Volunteers team at alumni-volunteers@bristol.ac.uk.

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Alumni interview: Sally Earthrowl, Mission Leader at eXXpedition and Environmental Advocate

Posted on by Clare

Image credit: Eleanor Church, Lark Rise Pictures – eXXpedition North Pacific Leg 1 Hawaii to Vancouver

Sally has always had a passion for our planet, graduating in 2004 with a BSc (Hons) in Geography and then continuing her studies to qualify as a Geography teacher. Over a 12-year teaching career Sally has been department lead and had whole-school responsibility for Teaching and Learning. Whilst teaching in Indonesia Sally led the charge on environmental action, facilitating the school becoming single-use plastic free, and working with the local community to raise awareness about the upstream solutions to this environmental challenge. Sally has since swapped her classroom for a sailing vessel and now leads all-female sailing voyages with eXXpedition, carrying out scientific research into plastic pollution and educating about the issue, the solutions and the role that everyone has to play in overcoming this environmental challenge.

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Thank you to our 1,500 Bristol Volunteers

Posted on by clare.young

Each year, the first week in June is dedicated to celebrating the impact of volunteers in the UK and thanking the millions of people who give their time to help others. We at the University of Bristol have been celebrating our 1,500 strong network of alumni volunteers, and the profound impact they have on the Bristol community.

Bristol Volunteers give time to the University of Bristol by organising events and activities to connect alumni, supporting students through mentoring and sharing career insight; helping the University with invaluable advice; or providing potential students with guidance on making the right study choices for them.

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Alumni interview: Jane Duffus, author of The Women Who Built Bristol

Posted on by Ellie
Image credit: Jon Craig

Jane Duffus (MA 2010) is on a mission to celebrate the incredible women who have made Bristol brilliant. The first book in her The Women Who Built Bristol series was published in 2018 and includes the stories of 250 inspiring women from Bristol’s history. From a heartbroken barmaid from Easton, to an abducted heiress – each story tells the tale of a vibrant woman who changed the city of Bristol in her own unique way.

After the success of her first book, Jane went on to publish The Women Who Built Bristol: Volume Two and she’s now hard at work writing Volume 3. We caught up with her to find out more about her time at the University and her writing process.

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