Daisy Mitchell continues her conversation with St John’s alum Nigel Hollington. He reveals his advice for the students of St John’s as well as alumni of the college.
My interview with Nigel was eye-opening. Hearing about his experience at the college and the connections he made during his time in Durham was incredible. One thing I wanted to discuss was his experience sharing a room. In my own first year I had a great roommate who I got on with very well, but I am aware that some people are not as fortunate. Nigel told me about his first year roommate, Paul, whose parents dropped him off on the first day of freshers. After a week they returned to visit, bringing their son a cake to celebrate his settling in. Nigel recalls their gifting him a cake too in recognition that he would be unlikely to have any visitors. This sounded like the start to a great year with a lovely roommate, someone unlike the students Nigel expected to be surrounded by when he arrived in Durham.
Nigel chatted to me about the political background in the seventies and its projected image of university students. As a period of antagonism, there were riots through which students had received a bad name. They were protesting against the apartheid and such issues so were regarded as young troublemakers. Most images were of students with long hair who smoked cigarettes, so for someone like Nigel’s father, university students were not the kind of people he wanted Nigel to be associated with. However, when he arrived in Durham Nigel recalled to me how he actually found polite, hardworking individuals and an environment which encouraged people to have sherry with the college principal after dinner. Nigel also remembers seeing half of the college disappear off to church on Sundays, making university a very different place to the one Nigel and his family expected.
He told me that he felt enthralled to be back in college, surrounded by students and the amazing atmosphere that he had felt when he was a student himself.
Due to his positive experience at John’s, Nigel told me about the impacts being at the college has had on his career. After completing his degree, Nigel studied for a PGCE at Durham in order to become a teacher. Ever since leaving university in 1978 this is what he did. Nigel laughed with me about the fact that even in his retirement he continues to help in school three days a week, supervising in classes with absent teachers. Without the friends he made at John’s and the support of those around him he would not have completed his teacher training or even his degree. He told me that he feels indebted to John’s college and the good friends he made who enabled him to stay on and complete his studies, shaping the rest of his life.
Nigel spoke to me about the John’s alumni events. Living in London Nigel explained that the college hosts events in London pubs in the evenings for people from all generations of St John’s to attend and meet others who experienced the Durham university life. He told me that he loves these events and that he puts a lot of effort into attending in order to chat to different people and stay engaged in the St John’s community. Having only reconnected with John’s in the last ten years, Nigel told me about a reunion he was invited to in 2013. He explained how he was nervous to attend because it was being hosted in college and he was worried that it would be unnerving to return. However, it was amazing to hear how comfortable he felt being back at St John’s. He told me that he felt enthralled to be back in college, surrounded by students and the amazing atmosphere that he had felt when he was a student himself. Being amongst the students was a feeling that Nigel seemed particularly nostalgic about as he mentioned the relatable feeling he had when speaking to them.
Nigel’s enjoyment of alumni events and visits to St John’s was so great to hear about as a finalist myself. Knowing that I am leaving Durham in a couple of months is scary but to hear Nigel’s sustained connection with the college is really reassuring. He urged me to mention his words of encouragement to other alumni to reconnect with St John’s if they have strayed away and to get back involved with college life.
Nigel’s adoration for St John’s goes beyond any level I imagined before meeting him. In our zoom call he told me of his consistent contributions to the college hardship fund in order to help anyone who may be in a similar situation to he was when he attended university. His financial aid to the college in response to the help he received whilst there is incredibly inspiring. He also mentioned how he has a sum of money for St John’s written into his will – an amazing sign of true devotion to a college that shaped his life and career.
I wanted to finish my interview with Nigel Hollington by asking for some advice for current and future students. He told me that we must always look for the long-term. For Nigel, the easiest thing to do would have been to leave university in his second year, but his friends enabled him to stay. This led to him completing his PGCE and starting a career in teaching, something he loves to do even in his retirement. He acknowledged that this would never have happened if he dropped out due to his financial struggles. Our meeting finished with an incredible statement by Nigel:
“Always endure the difficulties, because the benefits might last forever.”
John's Chronicle 