Holly Redford Jones (PPE, 2013)
I always excelled at things like sports and music, but never stood out as the academic ‘type’. I had originally planned to go to York, but after finding out I was dyslexic the summer before I was due to start (conveniently after having sat my A levels!), I began to rethink my options.
It just so happened that my dyslexia assessment took place in Oxford and I asked the assessor which college, if any, she would recommend for someone like me (northern state school, newly diagnosed SpLD), to which she replied that all she knew was that Hertford College had a reputation for being the friendliest. So, I went on the September open day, where I was greeted by a friendly, welcoming bunch of students and an enthused Prof. Peter Millican, keen to tell me all the virtues of PPE at Hertford.Holly has just finished reading PPE at Hertford and is now pursuing a career as a jazz singer.
For those three years, which included a stint as Boat Club Captain and JCR President, along with many late night library shifts and perhaps an equal amount of time spent milling around on one of the benches in OB Quad doing very little at all, Hertford more than lived up to expectations. Looking back, I think one thing I’m particularly proud of was setting up the first ever Hartfest during my time as JCR President. What I love most about Hertford is that it belies the myth that all Oxford colleges care about is academic success; while this is very much at the heart of the University, Hertford also provides a place to nurture and explore talent. Whether it’s playwriting, jazz singing, rowing, debating or costume designing for Thursday night’s bop, Hertford is the ideal environment to learn and perfect new skills and old. Hertford gave me the confidence to pursue the things that I love and am passionate about – even if a jazz singing PPE-ist does go slightly against the grain! Right now I’m working on my first EP and a couple of music video’s to go with it. It’s a great privilege to be doing the thing I love most: making music, and Hertford gave me the confidence to give it a shot.