Now that we are seven weeks into the semester, we have a handle on classes, library sessions, and deadlines dictating the steady routine of uni life. Yet, this routine pulls us away from reality, making it easy to overlook the achievements, innovations, and changes going on in the world around us. I find, especially as a woman, inspiring milestones and stories worth celebrating are drowned out not only because of the uni routine but also because of the persisting reality that women’s achievements remain largely ignored (take, for example, the lack of female nominees for best director at the Academy Awards this year; or, the total payout gap between the men’s and women’s Fifa World Cups). As such, International Women’s Day (approaching on 8 March) presents the perfect opportunity to amplify the voices left unheard.
I turn to the University of St Andrews itself with its rich history of alumnae as a source of inspiration for my fellow female students here. As for myself, Agnes Blackadder and Kate Middleton are two women drilled into my mind since First Year. While their work is rightfully praised, I want to turn our attention to the women we hear of less. Margaret Atwood, a recent honorary degree recipient at the university, is also an honorable mention, but I also want to focus on women who studied here. Therefore, in line with my aim to add to the list of women we celebrate, here are four University of St Andrews alumnae who are currently using their degrees to make global impacts in their respective fields:
1. Dr. Fiona Hukula
In 2015, Dr. Fiona Hukula became the first female Papua New Guinean to obtain a PhD in Social Anthropology at the University. Since then, she continues to open doors for women and women’s rights. She is both an experienced researcher (working for 23 years at the Papua New Guinea National Research Institute), and published author on crime, urban issues, and gender violence in Papua New Guinea (PNG). She is most notable for her work in developing policies regarding gender-based, domestic, and sorcery accusation related violence (largely made against women as witches) within the country. To raise awareness and bring about legal change regarding these issues, Dr Fiona Hukula worked directly with the PNG government as a member and Deputy Chairperson of the Constitutional and Law Reform Commision. She also served as a board member of the NGO Peace Foundation Melanesia and as Commissioner of the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission. Now, she is expanding her activism to a global level, consulting for the Australian Government and the European Union. She also currently works as the Gender Specialist and Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat at the World Bank. There, she hopes to “use my experience in PNG to continue my work to address gender-based violence and gender equity for the Blue Pacific.”
2. Professor Helen ApSimon
Professor Helen ApSimon received her PhD in Astrophysics from the University in 1967. Since then, her research has focused on international issues and solutions regarding air pollution and acid rain. Currently, she is Professor of Air Pollution Studies at Imperial College London. Her work, however, extends beyond the realm of academia. Alongside her position at ICL, she also works for the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), developing national air pollution control strategies for the UK up to 2050. Particularly concerned with urban air pollution in London, she also co-founded the Air Pollution Research in London (APRIL) network in 1996. APRIL continues today, working alongside Greater London Authority to communicate new scientific research and identify policy areas to better combat air pollution in the UK’s major cities. Such areas include emissions, health impacts, and synergy with climate policy. As such, for her contributions to the arts, sciences, and welfare of the nation, Professor Helen ApSimon was awarded the honor Commander of the British Empire in 2013. Now, she has taken a more global focus, working with Task Forces under the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. There, her research contributes to the global development of sustainable strategies reducing acidification, eutrophication, excess tropospheric ozone and fine particulate matter concentrations. She is also a founding member, chairman, and president of the European Association for the Science of Air Pollution to encourage dialogue between European countries and air pollution scientists. Professor Helen ApSimon has previously spoken on her feelings towards the impact of her work, saying it is “nice to think this has been any use to anybody – that it has been acknowledged that what I have done is useful.”
3. Sarah Hall
Soon after receiving her MLitt in Creative Writing at the University, Sarah Hall stayed on teaching for the university’s Undergraduate Creative Writing program. She is most known for her novels, short stories, journalism, and role as judge for prestigious literary awards such as the Man Booker Prize, Folio Prize, and the BBC National Short Story Awards. She is an award-winner herself, receiving the American Academy of Arts and Letters EM Forster Award and becoming one of the Granta Best Young British Novelists in 2013. Published in 2002, her first book Hameswater won the Commonwealth Writers First Book Award. In addition, her second and most notable novel The Electric Michelangelo (2004) was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region), and the Prix Femina Estranger (France). She maintains close links with the University, having contributed a short story to the university’s anthology The Book of St Andrews (2006). Her most recent work is her sixth novel Burntcoat, published in 2021. About her career she says, “Despite the challenges – self-discipline, time management, the necessity to produce strong original work – this is the most interesting occupation I could conceive or hope for myself.”
4. Saba Douglas-Hamilton
In 1993, Saba Douglas-Hamilton graduated with a first class MA in Social Anthropology from the University. She says, soon after university, she “flipped between conservation and anthropological consulting.” Yet, since then, she has become a world-renowned wildlife conservationist, filmmaker, and television presenter. With the BBC, Saba hosted nine award-winning TV series (some of her best known include Big Cat Diary, The Secret Life of Elephants, Unknown Africa, Big Bear Diary) and 24 documentaries. In addition, her documentary Heart of a Lioness was recognized in Discovery Channel’s top 25 best shows. Now, her work is focused on elephant conservation in Kenya, the country of her childhood. She is lead ambassador for Save the Elephants, a research, education, and outreach programme that works with NGOs to combat the ivory trade and protect elephant landscapes. With the help of STE, Saba also runs the Elephant Watch Camp, promoting “conservation tourism” in Samburu. She is also Vice Chair of the Ewaso Conservation and Tourism Forum in Samburu, advocating for effective conservation, responsible tourism, and sustainable development by stakeholders working in the Ewaso ecosystem. Her eyes remain set on her conservation efforts, saying, “There is nothing I believe is more important. If we don’t reduce our rapacious exploitation of this planet we will unravel the fabric of life on which we depend for our survival.”
The work of Dr Fiona Hukula, Professor Helen ApSimon, Sarah Hall, and Saba Douglas-Hamilton are but a select few in a wider pool of inspiring alumnae making global impacts as we speak. They make clear that, since the first cohort of women graduated from the University of St Andrews between 1895-97, alumnae have broken glass ceilings, made discoveries, won awards, and challenged the status quo. Looking at their work as a fellow female student has not only been empowering for myself, but has made me appreciate my brilliant peers who I know to be equally capable of making such an impact.