Inspiring OV News-Diversity, Adventures & New Beginnings
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Inspiring OV News-
Diversity, Adventures &
New Beginnings
OVs around the World: From Worcester to Seoul
As the UK enters Lockdown 2 this week we are delighted to feature OV Tom Child (S 98-03) in a new
edition of our OVs around the world series. Thank you Tom for sharing your fascinating and inspiring story
with us…
2020 marks a decade since I left the UK and in that time I have been lucky enough to live and work in some
incredible countries. From Melbourne to Singapore and now Seoul, I’ve experienced all weather extremes
possible, but it certainly wasn’t planned that way. I now find myself in the suburbs of Gangnam, right in
the heart of Seoul, South Korea, where the surroundings look very different to the cloisters of Worcester
Cathedral.
I often get asked about my
journey from rural Worcestershire
to one of the busiest cities in the
world and 2020 has provided
ample time for reflection.
Ironically the doors in which I
entered the corporate world were
not opened due to my academic
impact but rather a sporting one.
After leaving King’s and going on
Winning Asia Rugby Championship with Singapore. [9 Test Caps for Singapore in total] to play rugby for Worcester,
Harlequins and other national division
clubs, I had developed an extended rugby network that had reached as far as Singapore. After a brief spell
in Melbourne, I packed my bags and set off for the little red dot, for a role in brand management and to
play a bit of rugby on the side.
Working within the marketing industry in South East Asia proved to be a wonderful opportunity with travel
across the region and access to a whole new side of the world. With regional work spanning from Australia
to India and up to Japan, my work slowly got recognition and in 2018 I moved to South Korea to lead brand
strategy for Hyundai Motor Company.
With a global remit, I have been undertaking
the huge challenge of redefining the position
of the brand across all markets as well as
internalising that change from within the
organisation and all of its 170,000 employees.
A fear of public speaking had to take a back
seat as I have regularly been addressing
hundreds of people at conferences around
the world, as well as meeting many partners
who all make it possible to sell over 4 million
cars worldwide.
Presenting at the Global Dealer Conference, 2019
The automotive industry has also been
deeply impacted by this year’s
pandemic, however Korea has handled
the spread of the virus better than
most. Life in Seoul is largely unchanged
and it is quite surreal to see the rest of
the world go through continued
lockdowns, but it does provide hope
that one day everything will come under
control.
Team Child, Seoul, 2018
For now Seoul is home, and I get to share all these adventures with my wife Sue who I met in Singapore
and our 4 year old daughter, Isla. We’re both sure there is another adventure around the corner, but
where that may be is anyone’s guess.
Important report on Diversity &
Entrepreneurship
It is wonderful to see OVs getting involved with projects
to explore serious and important issues facing the UK at
the moment. Over the summer, OV Joe Fowles (Cl 05-
12) has been working on the government’s Commission
on Race and Ethnic Disparities which was established by
the Prime Minister following the BLM (Black Lives Matter) protests earlier this year.
Joe is a Strategy Consultant and a Diversity Advocate at global management consultancy, Oliver Wyman
where he has recently co-authored a ground-breaking study with the UK’s economic development bank on
entrepreneurship and diversity in the UK. The report, Alone together: Entrepreneurship and Diversity in the
UK, examines the profound effects that ethnic and economic background, gender and geography, have on
entrepreneurial outcomes and opportunities. The report can be found here.
Joe says, “Entrepreneurship should be a career where foresight, innovation and tenacity determine
success – but our research with the UK government shows that sadly this is not the case. Instead, a
person’s identity and wealth unfairly influence their outcomes and what should be a level playing field is
littered with obstacles. Action is urgently needed to begin to address these disparities.”
New Book- Life on the Edge – Defying Death in Danger Zones by
OV Nick Hales
Many OVs leave King’s with a passion to
explore the world and go on to have
fantastic adventures so we were very
excited to find out that OV Nick Hales (S
74-81) has just had a book published in
which he shares some of his own amazing
stories.
Nick told us, “A couple of years ago I
started writing a book about the countries I
had worked and lived in. The original
motivation was that I would have
something that my grandchildren could
read about their grandad. After showing a
couple of chapters to family and friends,
they encouraged me to publish it, if I ever completed it…. I finished it!
Here is the description:
Shot at in Zambia, detained as a spy in Botswana, dived with sharks in the oilfields of Saudi Arabia, survived
lethal gases and underground earthquakes in a South African Gold mine, outsmarted marauding soldiers
and avoided mortar attacks in Zaïre, braved Taliban death-threats in Pakistan and presided over Voodoo
ceremonies in West Africa—just some of the tales in this account of Nick’s colourful past. Life on the
Edge is a testimony to bygone times when a young maverick foreigner could transform lives while working
in some of the most fascinating places on earth.
.
Photo was taken on Vaal Reefs Gold Mine 8 Shaft, South
Africa. I was at a depth of just over 2 kilometres. There
had been a fall of the hanging wall (collapse of the roof)
a couple of minutes before I arrived.
Following civil unrest in Togo in 1992 I had to flee the
country. The border was closed so I crossed the
Mono River, with my car on two dug-out canoes, into
the neighbouring country Benin.
Handing out food during the catastrophic floods of 2007 in
Bangladesh. UNICEF stated it was the worst flooding in
memory with 85% of the country underwater.
Photo was taken on the historic Khyber Pass which connects
Pakistan and Afghanistan. There are many military
commemorative plaques of regiments that served in the area
engraved into the rock on the sides of the Pass.
After trekking along the Baltoro glacier in Northern Pakistan for
two weeks I finally got to see the awesome K2 mountain. The
second highest mountain in the world.”
OV Ordination during pandemic
Many congratulations to OV Hannah Gordon (K 91-98) who has just been ordained as a priest in the
Church of England in a special service at St Mary’s Church, Reigate.
Hannah says, “I was ordained priest by Rt Rev’d Jonathan Clark, Bishop of Croydon, alongside four other
deacons from the Croydon episcopal area. It was an intimate service which felt really special, for example
each of us was able to choose a hymn to be included.
I chose to wear slightly non-regulation shoes, which fitted well with our reading from Isaiah 52:7 “How
beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring
good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
My husband James and my girls Molly & Tabitha were there along with James’s parents. My training incumbent, Rev’d Kevin Lewis and Rev’d Bridget Shepherd, who was the person I first spoke to about a calling to ordination, joined with the Bishop of Croydon in laying on hands at the point of ordination. The service was live streamed on YouTube which meant members of my congregation could watch from afar, as well as my parents in Worcester. As a family we celebrated afterwards with champagne afternoon tea at home, Sutton having come under tier two restrictions the night before. I presided at Holy Communion the next day at our morning service, which was both joyful and awesome. I’ve certainly come along way on my journey of faith since sitting in the quire for school assembly, or the Cathedral for end of term services!” The first in a series of blogs by OV, Charlie Mackintosh (Cr 16-20) We are delighted to publish this as the first in a series of blog posts from Charlie Mackintosh (Cr 16- 20) reporting on his time as a new OV and first-year student at Oxford University. We look forward to following Charlie’s journey this year. “To say that the last few months have differed from my expectations for them would perhaps be an understatement. Leaving school in March, having no A Level exams, missing King’s Day and having all my holiday plans cancelled was not the glorious farewell from King’s and compulsory education that I hoped for but at least throughout the tedium of lockdown I had one thing to hold on to; the knowledge that, grade dependent, I would be starting at university in October. I had received my offer to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at New College, Oxford back in January following tests and interviews but there was one final hurdle to clear – meeting my offer. I was relatively confident in my ability to make my offer; it was comparatively low and for 3 subjects which gave me leeway considering I did 4 A Levels. However, the uncertainty over how we would actually get our grades, and the confusion over the IB results and Scottish results the week before meant that my friends and I were terrified for results day. Thankfully, despite three of my grades being arbitrarily modified down by the Government, I made my offer, as did the overwhelming majority of my friends. We all celebrated with a champagne picnic on College Green in the morning followed by a trip to a bar in Worcester that evening. Even those who had received bad news on results day were pleased in a few days’ time when their centre assessed grades were
restored by the government. Following results day, however, I still had a two month wait until my term
started on October 5th and so, in a hastily constructed plan I went on a three week road trip around
Scotland with two of my close friends, Will Bradley (Ca 13-20) and Ted Poel (Os 14-20). It wasn’t quite the
interrailing trip we had booked 6 months ago but we had a fantastic time and managed to cover nearly
1500 miles.
The weeks after our return were lonely, depressing and rather surreal. From mid-September onwards, the
mass exodus of new OVs began. My contemporaries studying in Scotland were the first to go, followed by
those at Exeter and Birmingham. By the end of September it practically felt as if I was the last person left in
Worcestershire! The restrictions were becoming ever more severe and I was worried I may not be able to
go up to Oxford at all. Thankfully these fears were not well-founded and after a weekend of packing and
goodbyes, mum and I drove up to Oxford on the 5th of October to begin the next chapter of my life.
New College was built in 1379 by William of
Wykeham, the Bishop of Winchester. It was built
on land next to the Mediaeval city wall that had
become available following the Black Death and
one of the college’s most remarkable features is
a 30 foot mound, rumoured to have originally
been a plague burial site. It thus felt very apt to
move into the college in the middle of another
world-ravishing pandemic.
Fresher’s week (or 0th week as it is called at
Oxford) was much more normal than I expected.
With the college bar and common room open,
there were plenty of opportunities to socialise
and the warden of the college had organised for
us still to be able to have the traditional
Freshman’s Formal Dinner (in gowns, three
courses complete with free wine and port). I was
able to meet most of the 127 freshmen and
women at New College and get involved with
several university-wide activities.
Perhaps, due to the socialising that took place in
0th week, the Covid-19 cases in College began to rise in first week. Almost every day, several people would
test positive or head into isolation and so the feel around college began to change noticeably. Mealtimes
became almost deathly quiet with no more than a handful of people in Hall, the rest locked up in their
rooms. Work had also begun to be set and although it was slow at first, the famous Oxford workload began
to ramp up, the only difference being that tutorials were happening virtually.
It was on Friday of that week that I began to get symptoms and got a coronavirus test. That Saturday was
the day of our matriculation (official start of our membership of the University) but unfortunately, several
hours before the ceremony and celebrations, I tested positive.
Normally the centuries-old tradition takes place in
the Sheldonian Theatre with the Pro-Vice
Chancellor of the University inducting the students.
This ceremony has weathered world wars, plagues
and goodness knows what else and so it felt rather
odd sitting in my room in sub fusc and gown
watching the ceremony online. It is a testament to
how peculiar the last few months have been that
rather than sitting in the same hall that my mother,
grandfather and great grandparents sat in for their
matriculation, I was instead staring wistfully out the
window at my friends customarily spraying each
other with champagne.
Whilst the Coronavirus has disrupted the way in
which I have both left school and started university,
I am very grateful for the fact that despite the
global chaos, I have still been able to go from
Vigornian, to Old Vigornian to Oxonian. Both King’s
and New College have managed through far greater
crises than this one and both the institutions are
still playing their role of looking after and educating
people like me. That feat of dedication, hard work and compassion has enabled the lives of myself and all
my contemporaries to continue with some normality in the most abnormal of times and long may that
continue!”
Royal Geographical
Society Prize for OV
We are always delighted to share the successes of
our OV community and many congratulations go
to OV Daisy Nichols (K 09-16) who has just won a
fantastic prize for a recent dissertation!
Daisy says, “I’m extremely thrilled to have won
the Royal Geographical Society HPGRG 2020
Dissertation Prize for outstanding original work in
the history and/or philosophy of human
geography.
The idea for my dissertation developed during my
year abroad, which I spent in Melbourne. This was
the third year of my Geographical Sciences degree
at the University of Bristol. I absolutely loved
living in Melbourne, meeting lots of other international students and travelling across Australia. In the dissertation I explore the experimental, improvisational filmmaking techniques of the Karrabing Collective. The Collective is a cooperative of Indigenous Australians who use film to analyse their existence within the context of settler colonialism. The dissertation considers how their films’ unconventional techniques may be framed as micropolitical acts in their attempts to rebut representational certitude. This area of film geography is relatively new, and one I find truly fascinating, so it was a pleasure to write my dissertation on it. I’m really looking forward to seeing my dissertation published on the Royal Geographical Society website soon!” King’s Staff sign up to support pupil bursaries A new initiative has been launched by King’s Development & Alumni Relations Office, which enables anyone to support King’s bursaries via online shopping at no cost to them. We are delighted that a number of staff have already signed up to support bursaries at the School for free, by registering with AmazonSmile and easyfundraising (for the charity: The King’s School Worcester Development Trust). Three of these members of staff are Nathan Blakemore (teacher of ICT and Computer Science and Lower Sixth Form Tutor in Wulstan House), Marion Capell (Assistant Librarian) and Emily Ward (Director of Marketing). Mrs Capell, who also supported the Mathew Armstrong Bursary Appeal last year, said, “I am very happy to sign up to AmazonSmile, as I already support a charity via easyfundraising. It’s amazing how internet shopping adds up and it really is such an easy way to raise money and for such a worthwhile cause. I hope that lots of people sign up to this.” Mr Blakemore, who already supports the work of the King’s School Development Trust via donations through the School’s payroll-giving scheme, was also keen to sign up to these online giving platforms. He said, “I think the King’s Bursary Scheme is really important and, as a teacher, I understand the benefits of a King’s School education and I am keen to support this Scheme however I can. Registering with AmazonSmile and easyfundraising is a no-brainer; it doesn’t cost me any more and every little bit adds up.” King’s Director of Marketing, Emily Ward, has also signed up to the AmazonSmile giving scheme, and said, “It’s great to support the Development Trust via such an easy way. Everyone I know uses Amazon daily so it’s a great opportunity and Amazon Smile is exactly like Amazon (just with a smile logo). It’s so simple and quick to set up. I’ll be asking my family and friends to set it up too.” On hearing about the AmazonSmile and easyfundraising schemes, we were also delighted that the Head’s wife, Jess Doodes, has also been inspired to sign up and support the Development Trust bursaries and she
told us, “From the outstanding academic provision to the wide extra-curricular offering wrapped up in an
extraordinary level of pastoral care, the King’s family is undeniably special. By signing up to these two
fabulous initiatives, especially at a time of year when we begin to turn our thoughts to shopping for the
festive season, I am delighted to support the work of our Development Office ensuring that as many
children reap the benefits of a King’s education as possible.”
For more information about how to give for free, you can email alumni@ksw.org.uk or access these online
sites via the King’s School website here.
06/11/2020You can also read
