We welcomed back alumni and friends of the College on Saturday 10 May for the inaugural 1511 lunch. Guests enjoyed welcome drinks in the Masters’ Lodge garden before proceeding to Hall for a delectable lunch. The Master greeted guests and shared upcoming exciting projects across the College while guests sampled chocolate truffles. Evangeline Dillon (2023, Medical Sciences), the first Dobson Free Places recipient and Davies-Jackson Scholarship holder, told of how these awards had impacted her first two years at John’s, helping with her studies and extra-curricular activities.
Overall, these awards have demonstrated to me the importance of anyone from any background being able to come to Cambridge and cause an impact with their degree. Awards like these put people from backgrounds like me on an even playing field with others when coming to university and I will be eternally grateful for your generosity. I intend to take the kindness that has been shown by everyone here today into my future clinical practice, and one day plan to donate money to the future students of St John’s with backgrounds akin to mine. – Evangeline Dillon (2023, Medical Sciences)
After lunch, half of the group went to the Old Music Room to listen to Professor Ulinka Rublack (Professor of Early Modern History at Cambridge University and Fellow of St John´s College), who is currently writing a global history of fashion, from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. She talked about the emergence of fashion as a global phenomenon, the importance of global accessories and of how these developments reshape questions about cultural difference, ecologies and the ethos of textile production. The other half of the guests took a tour of the College grounds with College Gardeners, David Austrin and Zoe Cullen, learning about the types of soil and planting used across the College. We finished the event with tea and coffee in the Senior Combination Room.
All photos credited to Ben Minnaar