Curating aesthetics – starting my journey with Kaleidoscope
Amrita Rahman is a third-year student studying English, with a particular interest in postcolonial literature. Born in Bangladesh, Amrita moved to the UK at the age of five. Keen to…
Search by author: Alumni Relations
The human race as one
The Kaleidoscope Alumni Network marked Interfaith Week, which was celebrated from 12-19 November by groups and individuals including the University’s Interfaith Steering Group and the School of Divinity. Here, we…
A Fulbright future: PhD, poetry, and possibilities
Fulbright Scholar Alisha Dietzman, PhD 2023, describes her journey from Iowa to St Andrews, her PhD experience at St Mary’s and her poetry publications post-graduation.
From Belfast to St Andrews in the 1970s
Clare Stevens (née Diamond), (MA Hons 1979) shares her experience of coming to St Andrews during the height of the Troubles. She recalls the contrast of the safe, quaint cobbled…
Recolouring the Queer
Kiki, a fourth-year student of Economics and International Relations, and BAME representative within the University’s LGBTQ+ Network, explains how their experience of arriving at St Andrews from India as a…
Light on the darkest night
Celebrated to coincide with the darkest night of the lunar month of Kartik in either late October or early November, Deepawali or Diwali is the Hindu New Year’s Day. It…
Kaleidoscope Alumni Network – what’s in our name? Everything
Catherine Dunford (BSc Hons 2007, PhD 2012) is the former Alumni Relations and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Engagement Coordinator. Here, she reflects on the foundation of the Kaleidoscope Alumni…
Nine special nights
From 15 to 24 October, Hindus around the world will take part in a nine-day celebration dedicated to the worship of the Mother Goddess Durga. Shardiya Navratri is one of…
The night is soft
The UN marks International Moon Day on 20 July to commemorate the anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar mission. International Moon Day celebrates the development of lunar exploration by countries…
![Arabic inscription on the wall of [the Great] Mosque, Medina, Sousse. University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums.](https://alumni.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/files/2025/09/Medina-featured.jpg)
Purity of writing encapsulates the purity of the heart
Arabic calligraphy is a major Islamic art form and the practice has both religious and aesthetic importance in the Arab world. The transformative nature of the Arabic alphabet (الأبجدية ) originates in…