My family at St Antony’s
Felipe Cascardi (MBA, 2022)
Being a student at St Antony’s has been one of the best experiences of my life. From the very first day, both the staff and the students welcomed us with so much kindness that my family and I immediately felt at home. It didn’t feel like I was just joining a college, but rather that we had found an extended family far from our own.
Living in the College accommodation with my wife and our three kids made everything even more special. We got to enjoy every corner of the College together, whether it was walking through the College buildings and Library, joining events, or simply being surrounded by such a unique atmosphere. The children loved it, and seeing them happy in this environment was one of the greatest gifts of the whole experience.
Looking back, I realize it wasn’t just about my academic journey. It was about the time we spent as a family, the friendships we built, and the memories we created. My children grew up for a while in a place full of learning, culture, and kindness, and I know that will stay with them forever. These pictures capture just a small part of that happiness, but for us it was life-changing.
St. Antony’s will always be much more than a college for me, it will be a home that shaped not only my studies but also my family’s story. For that, I will always be deeply grateful.
A COVID matriculation
Abbie Godoy-Guillen (MPhil Social & Cultural Anthropology, 2020)
Having arrived in late September of 2020, after a very long 2 week quarantine, the outside world almost felt surreal. As I stared out of my window on Woodstock Road, St Antony’s took on a magical quality. After donning my sub-fusc with all the pomp and circumstance one can manage in their college accommodation, I was ecstatic to take photos arranged by the College. Having barely known the people in these photos at the time things felt a bit awkward – what I didn’t know is that these Antonians would be the foundation of my time at Oxford. They became a refuge and family in a time of so much uncertainty.
SABC memories
Socially-distanced hangouts
Dexter Docherty (MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation, 2019)
I was part of the Covid residents of Antony’s when the pandemic started. One of these is a photo of a socially-distanced hangout. Another of my 25th birthday on 19 March, 2020, when my friends surprised me with a gathering in Uni Parks.
Home is where the heart is
Ms Caroline Olufah (MSt Diplomatic Studies, 2020)
Same tree, same friends
Matthew Smith (MPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies, 2021)
My friends and I took a photo in front of the tree in the quad on Matriculation Day 2021. Three years later, all of us graduated, and we came back for the Summer Eights formal in 2024 and recreated the photo!
Tyra Tucker (PGDip Diplomatic Studies, 2020)
Sketches of St Antony’s
Suha Hasan (Visiting Fellow, 2024)
Hudson Fellowship 2023-34
Lieutenant Andrew Ward (Hudson Fellow, 2023)
Dreams Kept
Abdul-Kadri Alhassan (PGDip Diplomatic Studies, 2022)
These photos speak to the cherished memories our cohorts created. They embody our special bond as a cohort.
Mary Crescent-Carter
(MSc Economics for Development, 2022)
Company in isolation
Mx Chané Varney (MSt Diplomatic Studies, 2021)
I arrived in Winchester Road (Oxford) from Johannesburg (South Africa) to undergo two weeks of isolation before embarking on a dream experience of studying Diplomatic Studies. I thought, two weeks is difficult, but not forever. During that time I made a home for myself in my room facing the Hadid building that inspired me to select St Antony’s college, and the courtyard construction site where work was underway to renovate the College Hall. Autumn days were fast ending and the leaves of the fig tree outside my window also offered less and less cover for the robin who came to perch there each morning. With no company other than the video calls with family back home, I decided to share my honey-rolled oats with my early morning visitor. Soon, he was hopping his way into my room to find the oats. He visited me every day for the three months of my stay at Winchester Road (two months of which I spent under lockdown). While I didn’t have the joy of building connections with my classmates and college mates, what I enjoyed was a close connection to nature, and truly, the second reason I chose the college, because of its proximity to Port Meadow. I will always be grateful to that little bird.
2022 St Antony’s Halloween party
Nicola Eric (MSt Diplomatic Studies, 2022)
‘Hogwarts moments!’
The floral features of St Antony’s
Angelina Gibson (Senior Common Room, 2002-2022)
The lovely cherry trees outside the MEC building welcoming spring every year // Floral framing of the eclectic buildings, May 2023.
The photograph at the top of this page has been reproduced by kind permission of Gillman & Soame photographers and can be ordered online here.