2013 ~ P R E S E N T |
S T I L L E V O LV I N G
really took to the role and stamped about the classroom
declaiming in fluent Russian! That kept us convulsed in
laughter for a good few minutes! And, from the same
class, the student who a year later introduced himself to
me as “I am Himmler from your INT1010 class”. Or, the
2008 third year IR students who gave me a T-Shirt and
signed their names on the back and penned in their
tributes. That T-Shirt (washed many times) still hangs
in my office and always catches the eye of visitors. Or
my frustration with students who don’t read before
coming to class, who ask for endless extensions, sit at
the back/top row in large lecture theatres and have their
own private chats while I am speaking! But, this is what
makes teaching so rewarding. When you see the noise-
maker now a serious consultant or manager or writer,
that makes it all so worthwhile. Really. I am still in email
contact with many students who have passed through
my classes – and so I am able to follow their careers,
see the choices they have made, and understand
who they have become. These are my recollections of
working as an academic in a School that has clearly
touched the lives of its students and staff.
Helen has been Head of SASS since 2018. She has
a PhD from the University of Warwick, UK as well as
postgraduate degrees from the University of Oxford
and Universiti Malaya.
162
◀ A gift from my
INT class (2008).