Oxford women: from very far and wide
The 2nd instalment of ‘100 years of Oxford’s amazing women’.
Today, we go on a journey with two women who have travelled a long way to come to Oxford. Neither fits the stereotype. Meet Grace and Mai.
The first year student
Grace Page, First Year History of Art student, St John’s College
Oxford introduced me to a world I haven’t known
Grace couldn’t believe it when the email came through, saying she had won a place at Oxford.
‘I kept refreshing the page,’ she says. ‘I didn’t tell anyone for a while. I couldn’t believe it.’
Coming from a small community in West Wales, Grace didn’t believe she was going to be a student at Oxford — especially, she says, because she thought her interview went so badly.
She had two interviews, both in the History of Art department. With so few people taking the subject each year, they are all interviewed collectively. She had applied to the university, not really thinking that she would get in.
‘I came on a summer school in Year 12,’ she says. ‘I really liked St John’s. It just felt right. I didn’t think I was clever enough, though. But now I love it.’
Grace is particularly enjoying her course: ‘It’s amazing. We go to the Ashmolean each week. I had to do a course I really liked.’
It’s a world away from her small town in Wales, where the main thing is Sainsbury’s and there is nothing for younger people, according to Grace. Her father had left school at 16 but encouraged Grace to apply, not realising how competitive it is.
She is keen to try punting, once the weather improves — and all the other Oxford clichés. But Grace is not prepared to cycle around the city. ‘I don’t like all the buses,’ she admits.
‘Anyone thinking about it should definitely apply,’ says Grace. “You might as well give it a try. It’s introduced me to a world I haven’t known.’
The Bodleian fixer
Dr Mai Musié, Public Engagement Manager, Bodleian Libraries
Be authentic. Be yourself
Dr Mai Musié is the embodiment of the non-Oxford, Oxford woman. In some ways, she is the opposite of what people would expect: born in Eritrea, came to London as a child refugee and went to university at Swansea. But, with her love of Classics, her fierce intellect and evident determination, Mai is exactly what you would expect from a woman at Oxford.
Now working with the Bodleian Libraries, Mai is keen to widen access to the institution: ‘It’s unique; the enormity of the collection is astonishing.’ She laughs: ‘The Book Storage Facility at Swindon is like the final scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.’
Despite the essential restrictions, she and the rest of the public engagement team are working hard to make the Libraries accessible beyond their academic readers. From exhibitions and special monthly events such as the ‘Library Lates’ to study days linked with the school curriculum, the Bodleian offers a range of opportunities for schools and community groups to engage with its outstanding collections of manuscripts, maps, rare books and archives. And, Mai says, there are plans to build on the success of the OxLibris programme, where Year 12 state school students working on their EPQ projects are given supervised access to academic library resources.
It is clear to see Mai’s determination to open access to Oxford’s spires goes back a long way. She came to Oxford eight years ago, the embodiment of a non-typical Classicist, to be the outreach officer for Classics. Coming from Swansea, where she took her PhD, was a ‘culture shock’, says Mai. But she was keen to bring more people to this most traditional subject.
Mai’s drive was there from an early age. Her family wanted her to study medicine or law; she wanted to study the ancient Greco-Roman world. It was only at her graduation ceremony that they learnt the truth. She is now researching race and ethnicity in the ancient world, alongside the academics who wrote the text books she studied. But she is concerned that people from non-traditional backgrounds should not be put off by talk of the ‘specialness’ of Oxford.
‘Oxford does world changing research,’ she says. ‘That is what people should be talking about rather than about its esoteric nature.’
What next?
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