Recent Alumni Events

Recent Graduate Night

The recent graduate event was one of the first events of 2009. The event was open to alumni who graduated from 2004-2008. Over 50 alumni registered for the night, which was held on Tuesday 17 March at Revolution Bar, Soho, London. There was a great buzz in the air as recent graduates caught up with friends - many of whom stayed late into the night.

Alumni in the City

This event was open to all alumni working in London and the surrounding areas. The event was held at Corney & Barrow, Lime St on Wednesday 21 April, 2009. The evening had been organised in response to requests from alumni for a relaxed opportunity to meet fellow alumni working in the area. The night was a great opportunity to meet old friends, make new ones, as well as making new business contacts. Some alumni expressed an interest in mentoring other alumni as well as current students - a project that the Alumni Relations Office is looking into for the future. The event was a huge success with many alumni asking for regular networking events in the future.

1940s/50s Reunion

This year's decade reunion was attended by 75 Royal Holloway alumni (and guests) from 1940s/50s. The reunion was held at Royal Holloway on Saturday 16 May and the programme of events began with a drinks reception in Crosslands before moving to Founder's Dining Hall for a three course lunch. Former Principal, Professor Stephen Hill, welcomed alumni before delivering a presentation on the College's recent achievements and plans for the future.

Following lunch was a magnificent performance from the highly acclaimed Royal Holloway Choral Scholars. Richard Williams, an expert on the College, proceeded to give a talk about many of the changes which have happened over the past 50 years before leading a guided tour of the campus, with all 75 alumni and guests participating. The 1940s/50s Reunion was a positive experience for all with many saying it was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends and remember College days.

"It was a most enjoyable programme. The lunch was delicious and I enjoyed the choral scholars enormously."

"It was particularly delightful to chat with graduates from different
specialists and eras over a good meal."

" …very pleased with the way things went on Saturday: the excellent organisation and information; the welcoming atmosphere, delicious meal and friendly unstuffy service and the programme of singing, speeches and tour of the college."

Bedford College Alumni Tea

The Bedford Alumni Tea was immensely popular, so much so that there was a waiting list to attend. Almost 90 alumni and guests attended the tea which was held on Saturday 18 April 2009 at Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London. Mark Lewis, Director of Development, welcomed alumni before passing the floor to College Archivist, Vicky Holmes. Vicki gave a talk on Elizabeth Jesser Reid, the founder of Bedford College, using some of the rare and priceless materials held in our archives. The talk was very popular, and alumni expressed a keen interest in receiving copies of the talk for their own reference.

Following on from the positive feedback, we hope to organise similar Bedford College alumni reunions in the future.

"Most enjoyable, thanks to all those who organised the event."

"Excellent choice of venue – easy to access."

 

"Superb!"

 

"A very civilised event – interesting to meet other generations of Bedford graduates"

 

"Thank you for organising this event, which has been exceedingly successful."

Alumni Tea (at the Garden Party)

The ever popular Alumni Tea at the Garden Party was attended by over 100 alumni and guests. Former Principal, Stephen Hill welcomed everybody before passing over to Royal Holloway Choral Scholars whom, as always, delivered a sensational performance. Alumni and guests also had the opportunity to visit the Garden Party held in the South Quad. Despite the rain, everyone had an enjoyable day.

In conjunction with the Alumni Tea a separate 50 year lunch reunion took place in the Student's Common Room with over 45 alumni and guests attending. This reunion was organised by Gillian Adams, English, 1956. This reunion was a great opportunity for a smaller group of alumni to catch up in a more intimate environment.

US Alumni Weekend

Over 50 alumni and guests attended the US Alumni Weekend in June in New Haven, US. Our exciting programme of events attracted alumni from Canada, UK as well as those in the US.

The weekend was a busy event - the exclusive tours proved to be very popular and included Yale campus, Stirling Memorial Library and Royal Holloway Collection at the Yale Center for British Art.

Tours of the campus were guided by current Yale students whose passion and enthusiasm for their university were clearly felt by our alumni. Imogen Hart and Eleanor Hughes, curators for The Yale Center for British Art, delivered a knowledgeable and engaging tour of Royal Holloway's Collection, explaining stories behind the some of the more famous paintings. Head Librarian, Alice Prochaska, an Honorary Fellow of the College, took the final group on a very special tour of Yale's famous landmark, Stirling Memorial Library. Alice gave an insight into the history of the library and collection of four million volumes while she guided the group through the magnificent building.

Moving into mid afternoon, our alumni group had VIP seating for the Choir of Royal Holloway performance at the beautiful United Church on the Green. The performance was described by our alumni as ‘magnificently stunning'. Two standing ovations from the audience were certainly well deserved!

Our alumni group were fortunate to spend time with the student choir at the evening drinks reception, where they shared and compared experiences of College life as it was then and as it is now. During the reception, Professor Andrew Scott, gave a talk about key projects between the Peabody Museum and Royal Holloway. As the evening approached, there was certainly a buzz in the air as our alumni group moved on to dine amongst huge dinosaurs in the ‘Great Hall of Dinosaurs'.

On the Sunday, Mark Lewis, former Director of Development, gave a talk on change throughout the years of Bedford College and Royal Holloway which also included an open forum. There were lively discussions amongst alumni sharing their College experiences. On display were some of Royal Holloway and Bedford College's treasured memorabilia and books – some alumni also bought in their own treasures from their College days. Following the talk was a second round of tours.

Over the weekend we were joined by Vice Principal, Professor Geoff Ward, who delivered several presentations on the College's achievements, future direction and the special literary relationship between the US and UK.

The weekend was certainly the success we had anticipated. We would like to extend our thanks to the US volunteers who helped to make this event such a triumph!

"Thank you so very much for the most wonderful weekend. We enjoyed every minute and have a life time of spectacular memories!"
Lesley Mroz, Geography, 1970