Adam Kellett (Geography, 2014)

For a long time, Oxford wasn’t on the cards for me. I didn’t consider myself good enough or the ‘Oxford type’. But I took a look at the course (just to be nosy, really) and I began to wonder if it was worth taking a punt. Wanting a college that was old, had a cat and a nicely coloured scarf, Hertford was the clear choice on paper – and it didn’t disappoint in person!

Now that I’m here, I can categorically say that there is no ‘Oxford type’. There’s an Oxford underneath the aura that gets projected, and it’s a brilliant mosaic of personalities: full of mostly normal people who enjoy their subject, who have the chance to indulge in sports and hobbies in a gorgeous city, and who will happily talk your ear off about any topic under the sun over either a cup of tea or a ‘Pango’. Nowhere shows that better than Hertford, and it has always struck me as being good at creating a community full of varied individuals.

Some of my favourite memories have been indulging in those quintessentially Oxford-y things. I often feel like a lucky tourist that’s been given a 3-year VIP pass to Oxford. Having the chance to go to college balls (wearing those special Hertford cufflinks), staring through a beery haze at Magdalen Tower for some 6am madrigals (the high culture quickly offset by a McDonald’s breakfast), or accidentally punting through the set of Endeavour are things that wouldn’t happen anywhere else. Amongst all of this, Hertford always feels down-to-earth, so I only ever meet the really Oxford-y things on my own terms. In the city of dreaming spires, something to keep your feet on the ground is such a valued commodity.