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Examined Life

Examined Life: Agnes Xavier-Phillips JP DL (LLB 1983)

Examined Life: Agnes Xavier-Phillips JP DL (LLB 1983)

Posted on 23 June 2021 by Anna Garton

Agnes Xavier-Phillips JP DL (LLB 1983) is a woman who’s not afraid to say yes to an opportunity. During her career she’s worked as a teacher, nurse, lawyer, and now volunteers her time and expertise to support a range of organisations.

Examined Life: Dr Darren Freebury-Jones (BA 2010, MA 2012, PhD 2016)

Examined Life: Dr Darren Freebury-Jones (BA 2010, MA 2012, PhD 2016)

Posted on 16 April 2021 by Alumni team

Dr Darren Freebury-Jones (BA 2010, MA 2012, PhD 2016) is a triple Cardiff alumnus and a popular Shakespeare lecturer in Stratford-upon-Avon. His passion has led to some surprising discoveries about the world of literature. He explains why he chose to dedicate himself to the Bard, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

Examined Life: Neville John (BMus 1957)

Examined Life: Neville John (BMus 1957)

Posted on 21 October 2020 by Alumni team

Neville John (BMus 1957) was born in Tumble, Carmarthenshire and studied cello at Cardiff University. He led a successful career as a music teacher and composer following his studies and recently celebrated his 90th birthday. In this Examined Life, he reflects on his musical family, his fondest memories of Cardiff and the historical disaster that inspired him to compose.

Examined Life – Dino Willox (BA 1996, MA 1999, PhD 2003)

Examined Life – Dino Willox (BA 1996, MA 1999, PhD 2003)

Posted on 17 August 2020 by Kate Morgan (BA 2017)

Dino was a Cardiff University student three times over and has always championed diversity and inclusion in Higher Education. Here, they reflect on their career, reminisce about Cardiff, and offer some valuable insight.

Examined Life: James Smart (MA 2016)

Examined Life: James Smart (MA 2016)

Posted on 29 May 2020 by Kate Morgan (BA 2017)

James Smart (MA 2016) is a successful broadcast journalist based in Nairobi. Some of his career highlights include being an anchor for Kenya’s leading television networks, working on the BBC’s ‘Focus on Africa’ broadcast, creating two hugely successful television shows and, more recently, covering the impact of coronavirus on the most vulnerable in society.

Examined Life – Sir Craig Oliver (PGDip 1992)

Examined Life – Sir Craig Oliver (PGDip 1992)

Posted on 25 April 2019 by Alumni team

Sir Craig Oliver is former controller of BBC Global and Director of Communications at 10 Downing St, and is now a principal at consulting firm Teneo.

Examined Life – Guto Harri (PgDip 1988)

Examined Life – Guto Harri (PgDip 1988)

Posted on 17 December 2018 by Alumni team

Guto Harri is a writer, broadcaster and strategic communications consultant.

Examined Life – Shrouk El-Attar (MEng 2018)

Examined Life – Shrouk El-Attar (MEng 2018)

Posted on 17 December 2018 by Alumni team

Shrouk El-Attar is a prominent LGBT+ activist named ‘Young Woman of the Year’ 2018 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Examined Life: Chris Jackson (BSc 2002)

Examined Life: Chris Jackson (BSc 2002)

Posted on 31 May 2018 by Alex Norton

Chris Jackson (BSc 2002) is the award-winning Royal photographer for Getty Images, one of the world’s leading photo agencies.

Examined Life – Professor Nicola Phillips (PhD 2005)

Examined Life – Professor Nicola Phillips (PhD 2005)

Posted on 21 November 2017 by Susie Bailey

Academic and Chef de Mission for Wales at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Examined Life – Vithiya Alphons (BSc 2017)

Examined Life – Vithiya Alphons (BSc 2017)

Posted on 21 November 2017 by Susie Bailey

At the start of her final year at Cardiff University, Vithiya Alphons (BSc 2017) was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. After initially being given just two months to live, Vithiya survived her battle with cancer and graduated in summer 2017.

Examined Life – Tim Griffin (MBA 1989)

Examined Life – Tim Griffin (MBA 1989)

Posted on 21 November 2017 by Susie Bailey

Tim Griffin (MBA 1989) recently stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Dell UK. He now works on charitable projects, start-ups and on the advancement of Welsh rugby.

Examined Life – Dr Alan Lewis (PhD 1971)

Examined Life – Dr Alan Lewis (PhD 1971)

Posted on 4 May 2017 by Susie Bailey

Dr Alan Lewis (PhD 1971) is CEO of DiaVacs, a company developing products to reverse the onset of autoimmune diseases.

Examined Life – Heather Knight (BSc 2012)

Examined Life – Heather Knight (BSc 2012)

Posted on 4 May 2017 by Susie Bailey

Heather Knight (BSc 2012) is captain of the England cricket team.

Examined Life – Eric Tan (BSc 2003)

Examined Life – Eric Tan (BSc 2003)

Posted on 4 May 2017 by Susie Bailey

Eric Tan (BSc 2003) is founder of Fifth Journey, a Hollywood-backed gaming company bringing the movies to mobile devices.

Examined Life: Myles Hopper (BA 2010)

Examined Life: Myles Hopper (BA 2010)

Posted on 21 November 2016 by Susie Bailey

Myles Hopper (BA 2010) is co-founder of Mindful Chef, a healthy food subscription company. I studied Ancient History at Cardiff University and absolutely loved it. Understanding and learning about different […]

Examined Life: Sophie Dekkers (BA 1999)

Examined Life: Sophie Dekkers (BA 1999)

Posted on 21 November 2016 by Susie Bailey

EasyJet’s UK Country Director Sophie Dekkers (BA 1999) is in charge of driving the company’s commercial and strategic ventures in the UK, as well as handling its 120 aircraft and […]

Examined life: Supachai Chuenjitwongsa  (MSc 2012, PhD 2015)

Examined life: Supachai Chuenjitwongsa (MSc 2012, PhD 2015)

Posted on 10 November 2016 by Susie Bailey

SUPACHAI CHUENJITWONGSA As well as lecturing at a dental school in Thailand and leading various dentistry development projects for Thai practitioners, Supachai Chuenjitwongsais a fluent Welsh speaker, having helped launch […]

Examined Life – Simon Blake OBE (BA 1995)

Examined Life – Simon Blake OBE (BA 1995)

Posted on 14 July 2016 by Rebecca Hopkins

Simon Blake is Chief Executive of the National Union of Students, deputy chair for Stonewall UK, and a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

Examined Life – Dr Rhys Jones (BSc 1999, MPhil 2003, PhD 2010)

Examined Life – Dr Rhys Jones (BSc 1999, MPhil 2003, PhD 2010)

Posted on 14 July 2016 by Rebecca Hopkins

Dr Rhys Jones is a Cardiff University Lecturer, reptile specialist, environmental consultant, researcher and broadcaster.