Tom Quad sparkled in the early autumn sun as I entered Christ Church for my Gaudy, 23 years after Freshers’ Week. Wandering through college, I saw friends head off to relax in the Masters’ Garden, while others explored the new gift shop in the Meadows.

On my journey to Oxford (from Cambridge, where I now lead student experience projects at the University), my phone buzzed with news of friends checking in, to rooms old and familiar, and old rooms with new features (en-suite in Blue Boar was certainly not our first-year experience!).

We snatched the last glimpses of the stunning early evening light before heading into Evensong. Drinks, a delicious dinner and wide-ranging conversations ensued, including with my former tutors Prof. Christopher Robinson, Prof. Ian Watson and Prof. Jennifer Yee, and with Dean Sarah Foot on High Table.

I was struck by the diversity of career routes we’ve taken as alumni, and how our careers have been less linear than we might have predicted. I had once thought that my funded D.Phil. would provide a passport to an academic career. After a term as Lecturer in Italian at Christ Church, I built a portfolio career, including in student recruitment and outreach, and spent six years as Lecturer in Italian at St Anne’s. I moved to the University of Bath in 2017, when I gave up teaching and research to focus on my ‘Alternative Plan A’ in student support, experience and inclusion. Christ Church connections were never far away. Whilst leading a student support service at King’s College London, I co-taught critical thinking with alumna Dr Julia Hartley (2007, French and Italian), one of my first students at Oxford.

Those I met at Christ Church have grown into some of the deepest friendships I have. For many of us, this Gaudy highlighted the absence of our very dear friend Rebecca Clarey (2001, Music), whom we sadly lost to cancer in 2023. She would have especially enjoyed our customary post-dinner singing on the Hall steps with former members of College Choir, as Bruckner’s Locus iste floated up towards the vaulted ceiling above.