Isobel Gardner (2023), Medicine
Buffini Chao Bursary recipient 2023-2024
Isobel Gardner, a second-year medic at St John’s, was selected to represent College in the classic image of New Court in autumn in both the Times and the Guardian this term. We caught up with her to hear what her experience has been like at St John’s so far.
After attending sixth form in Greater Manchester, I started my Medicine degree at St John’s College in October 2023. As someone with a passion for learning I appreciate that Medicine at Cambridge allows me to explore medical science in depth and gain understanding that will carry on into my clinical years. Additionally, I am grateful for the opportunity to benefit from the supervision system, which I have found incredibly useful throughout the first year of my course in allowing me to ask questions and explore concepts outside the scope of lectures. The supervisors I have met with at St John’s have all been extremely passionate and are a source of inspiration for me.
Aside from my studies I am extremely passionate about rock climbing. I had been an avid climber for a couple of years before starting at St John’s in 2023 and decided to try out for a place on the competition team of Cambridge University Mountaineering Club (CUMC) at the beginning of the Michaelmas term last year despite never having competed in climbing before. I was successful and have since been regularly training at a local bouldering gym with the other members of the team and competing at regional bouldering competitions, including the London University Bouldering Event competition series, which Cambridge placed first in. I have really enjoyed exploring a new competitive side of my sport and hope to continue to compete in the future. Through the CUMC I have also met and developed friendships with people from across the entire university student body.
Isobel competing at London University Bouldering Event 2024 Round 2. Credit: @distantaxis_
I have taken advantage of events arranged by various medical societies, including a conference on trauma and orthopaedic surgery, at which I participated in a mock hip and knee replacement.
I am very grateful for the support from the Buffini Chao Bursary towards my studies at St John’s College, and my experience of my first year of my course would have been very different if not for the financial help I received. Significantly, this support allowed me to compete for the University in climbing, contributing to the cost of a membership to the local bouldering gym where I trained four times a week throughout the Michaelmas and Lent terms, as well as the additional costs associated with competing.
Climbing is a huge passion, and being able to continue my hobby in Cambridge massively contributed to my physical and mental wellbeing. This financial support moreover enabled me to take my family to a Formal Hall in College when they came to visit, which we all really enjoyed. The Buffuni Chao Bursary has enabled me to attend social events I would not have otherwise had the means to, such as the Medical Society Winter Ball during Lent term and the St John’s May Ball, which I am really looking forward to attending (having just finished my exams). This generosity has made an enormous and positive impact on my time here so far, which I am very thankful for, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend St John’s College, which is a hugely inspirational place to live and study.