Clarendon Scholars' Council
- Message from the President
- Mission Statement of the Scholars’ Council
- Council Positions
- Clarendon Scholars’ Council 2010-2011
- Councillor Profiles
Message from the President
2010-11 marks the second year of the Clarendon Scholars’ Association and as President of the newly elected Clarendon Scholars' Council, I warmly welcome you all to what promises to be an exciting and action-packed academic year in Oxford.
The first Assocation President in 2009 was Brett Tully, a DPhil student in Biomedical Engineering, who saw the need for a centralised student body in association with the Clarendon Scholarship to provide a platform for formal scholar interaction and to establish a community of scholarship holders. With this need in mind, Brett did an absolutely amazing job at doing all the necessary groundwork for establishing the Council. As incoming President for the 2010-11 academic year, I know I have some big shoes to fill!
The 2009-10 academic year saw the introduction of the ‘Talking Heads’ lecture series, which provides currents Scholars with the opportunity to showcase their research to their peers and allows all in attendance to gain interesting insights into topics far removed from their own fields of interest. Three Arts and Culture events were organised throughout the year, with two trips to London to see the Lion King and Wicked musicals, and a little closer to home Scholars enjoyed a Baroque Masterworks concert at the Sheldonian Theatre. One of the highlights of the year was a day trip to Stonehenge, Avebury and Salisbury which was an excellent way to enjoy the English countryside and have some picture-perfect moments! All these festivities will continue throughout the 2010-11 academic year.
A primary focus for the Clarendon Scholars’ Council is to build the reputation of the scholarship in the wider community. Through this website, we will provide a point of contact for potential applicants, employers and current Scholars. Lease sign up to the mailing list and keep checking the website for the most up-to-date information throughout 2010-11 and we will inform Scholars about upcoming events and planned events for Clarendon Scholars.
All the best for the 2010/2011 academic year,
Amber Hood, Clarendon Scholars' Association President 2010/2011
Mission Statement of the Scholars’ Council
The Clarendon Scholars' Council will provide a platform to facilitate professional, academic and social development opportunities through an intellectually and socially interactive community. The Council will provide a network for engagement separate from those of academic departments or college affiliation and bring together uniquely like-minded people for the formation of life-long friendships and shared intellectual curiosity. As a collective group, we will work to promote the reputation and global awareness of the Clarendon Scholarship and Oxford University through a strong alumni network, and internal and external collaborations. The Scholars' Council and developing Clarendon community will both enhance the experience of scholars during their time in Oxford and maintain this connection well beyond the degree process.
Council Positions
The Council for the Clarendon Scholars Association is comprised of 5 elected council officers (President, Secretary, Treasurer and two Councillors) and the Council Members. There is also the possibility of co-opting in casual Council Members to fill casual vacancies for specific tasks relating to the Association’s activities. This means that there is a chance for everyone to get involved with the Association, even during their first year as a Scholar.
Clarendon Scholars’ Council 2010-2011
The 5 Council Officers for the
2010-11 academic year are:
President: Amber Hood
Secretary: Laura Pereira
Treasurer: Claire Woods
Councillor: Caitlin McElroy
Councillor: Sam Whitehead
Their profiles are below.
In accordance with the Constitution, the Secretary will announce vacancies in causal positions in due course throughout the academic year – so keep checking your emails!
The Council holds regular general meetings as well as the AGM and special meetings when required. Members will be informed of these well in advance.
Councillor Profiles
President: Amber Hood
Greeting Clarendon Scholars (and future applicants)!
Allow me to introduce myself – I’m Amber, President of the Clarendon Scholars’ Association for the 2010-11 academic year.
I am a first year DPhil student (I completed my MSc in Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar last year) and I like to drill holes in pots – when I can. Old pots. More specifically, I’m reading Archaeological Sciences, and am working on luminescence dating of Early Dynastic Egyptian pottery. I also work on relative dating of the same pots – but now I’m just falling into the trap of giving you too much information about my research! (But if you are interested, ask me some time as I’m more than happy to tell you all about it!!!). Before starting in Oxford, I studied Egyptian Archaeology at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia (although I am a proud Queenslander!). When not in Oxford, I can usually be found excavating in Egypt.
As President of the Association, I am always happy for you to contact me with any queries or suggestions you have about the Clarendon Scholars’ Association and the activities we organise for Scholars each year. If you are a future applicant please feel free to contact me also, but please note that funding, admissions and admin enquiries should be directed to the Graduate Funding team (email). If you are a current Scholar, please contact me if you’d like to get involved with the Association.
I’m at Merton College and have loved every minute of my time in Oxford. Although I’ve only been here for a year, Oxford has fast become home and being a student here is rewarding academically and culturally and one can have a lot of fun in this city! In addition to pottery, also love rowing and have recently developed a keen interest in Salsa (dancing, as opposed to the yummy goodness you put on corn chips, although I have an interest in that too on occasion). I also have a fondness for my red Hunter wellies and The Big Bang Theory.
I look forward to meeting all the new scholars in October and of course seeing all the returning Scholars’ throughout the academic year! Here’s to a great year ahead in Oxford!
Secretary: Laura Pereira
Laura Pereira is a 3rd year DPhil student in the school of Geography and the Environment working on climate change and food security in Brazil and South Africa. She did her BSc Hons back home at Wits University in South Africa before coming across to do her Masters at Oxford in 2007. Having been the social secretary for the Clarendon Council last year, she is excited to take up her new post as secretary for the coming year. Apart from this, she is also the MCR President for St Hilda's college in 2010/2011 and the President of the Oxford Gumboots Dance Troupe. Since coming to Oxford she has become a rower and can now be found on the river at soon as the sun rises whenever she isn't recovering from the night before.
Treasurer: Claire Woods
Claire is going into her third year as a DPhil student at the Oxford University Centre for the Environment. Before coming to Oxford, Claire completed her undergrad in Arts/Law at the University of Melbourne in Australia and worked at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for a couple of years. She enjoyed playing football for the Blues for her first two years in Oxford, but has now retired and moved to the greener pastures of counting beans for the Clarendon Council. She is at Worcester College and loves its beautiful grounds and delicious food.
General Councillor: Caitlin McElroy
A third year Dphil student, Caitlin is also in the School of Geography and the Environment. She received a BA degree at the University of Pennsylvania, an MSc at Oxford, and then after an active year away,came back for more. She has loved being a part of Brasenose College, serving as the HCR secretary, and participated in many seasons of college rowing competitions. The past year she has been continent-hopping to Africa and South America for her fieldwork about international mining and development, and is looking forward to involvement in the Clarendon community this coming year to liven the writing-up process!
General Councillor: Sam Whitehead
Sam is a third year Particle Physics DPhil student working on the ATLAS experiment, a large experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. For the second year of his DPhil Sam lived near Geneva and worked at CERN, manning the ATLAS control room and watching LHC data come in ready to be analysed in the search for new and interesting physics. Before taking up his DPhil with Somerville College, Sam completed a BSc Hons and MSc at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. In Oxford, he has enjoyed the opportunity to play for the University in Australian Rules and Rugby League, and has been involved in the Clarendon Council since its inception, concentrating especially on trying to help with getting the website up and running.