5th April 2018
Last term, English Literature students began exploring ‘The Immigration Experience’.
To support their learning in the classroom, where they have been studying texts such as Andrea Levy’s Small Island, the department welcomed different alumni, parents and authors into College to share their stories and perspectives of immigration.
Mike Kingston
The flow of interesting guests began with author Nikesh Shukla. Nikesh is the editor of the essay collection, The Good Immigrant, where 21 British writers of colour discuss race and immigration in the UK. The book won the Reader’s Choice at the Books Are My Bag Awards and was shortlisted for Book of the Year at the British Book Awards! The successful author spoke about his experiences of the publishing industry as a London-born writer of colour and shared his motivations behind his latest work.
Nikesh was followed by alumni member Mike Kingston who shared his experiences as a child of Maltese parents who came to the UK whilst Malta was recovering from the damage and destruction it suffered during World War II. Mike attended St Brendan’s from 1965 – 1972 whilst it was an all-boys school. Mike became a partner in one of the leading City-based international law firms and has since worked in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Paris for names such as Amstrad, Formula One, Tottenham Hotspur, Paperchase and The Financial Times! Mike now lives in Paris and spoke to his mesmerised audience about his experiences as a British citizen, born to Maltese parents, living in Paris with his family.
The term was rounded off with three guest speakers who attended a Q and A session on their experiences of immigration. The students welcomed Stuart Long, Marcia Johnson and Nicholas Ogborne to College – all of whom had very different experiences. Stuart moved from his home in the UK to Zambia, where he now lives. Nicholas spoke about his experiences of living in a range of different countries as a result of his profession. Marcia, a mother of a St Brendan’s student, reflected on her positive and negative experiences as an immigrant who came to the UK from Jamaica.
Thank you to all of our visitors! If you would like to come to College to share your experiences with students, please don’t hesitate to contact us at gw@stbrn.ac.uk.
