Relocating from Germany to Oxford with my family in the autumn of 2019, we entered a different world. Unfamiliar with the concept of the collegiate university, I did not know what to expect from being a fellow of a college.

In Germany, my children were used to visiting me in the University and they knew exactly what their mum did in this “school for big children”. But it was very difficult for me to explain to them what College was like, what role a college plays in the life of a scholar. And then, close to Christmas, we, like all members of the staff, students and fellows with their children got an invitation to the Children’s Christmas Party in Univ…

In the Alington Room where the fellows usually have their lunch coffee, mince pies and games were offered, Andrew Gregory and his team set up a treasure hunt in the chapel and in the Hall waited treats for young and old. The afternoon’s highlight was the visit of Father Christmas handing out presents to the children – Sir Ivor Crew almost unrecognisable behind a huge white beard.

Besides relaxed conversations with such a variety of people from your college (and I really need a festive sweater next year!) it was the opportunity for my family to see where I spend a lot of my time when I am not at home. And to experience that, even though it is architecturally an enclosed space, it is friendly and welcoming inside.

Maren Schentuleit – Supernumerary Fellow in Egyptology; Associate Professor of Egyptology and Coptic Studies; Director of the Griffith Institute

Published: 12 February 2021

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