Humans of York

"I don’t do things the easy way. I’m go big or go home."

"If you are wondering whether a placement year is worth it, my immediate answer is yes, no hesitation. I would rather say 'oh well' than 'what if'."

What does true inclusivity look like in student sports?

"I grew up under Section 28, so there‘s lots of people my age who weren't able to explore their sexual identity, be out or celebrate who they are and who they love."

"You have to be open to not being sure what will happen… work hard and adapt your thinking, then you can find yourself doing stuff you never thought you'd be capable of.”

“A lot of my stuff is really showing what a real postpartum body looks like… I will stand there in my pants on the internet so that other mums can feel less alone."

“I saw children falling through the cracks due to undiagnosed learning difficulties and pupils from poorer families coming in late or without breakfast."

"I had never left Edinburgh until I was 21. I struggled with languages at school. But 25 years later I’ve served across the world, working in five languages."

“It doesn't matter how many David Attenborough programmes you watch... to see the wonders of nature with your own eyes is truly amazing.”

Why do two people with apparently similar strokes recover in very different ways?

“People are often particularly surprised about the wide range of people I interact with, from farmers in rural Africa to Heads of State.”

“People stop dead in their tracks when I tell them that the impacts of loneliness on our health are as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The body keeps the score.”

"To be connected to Sam’s memory in this way is the greatest privilege of my life, and I will always strive to honour and uphold the values he embodied."

“You need to know the limits that nature imposes on the machine.”

"It’s not enough to understand how blood cancers evolve; we have to also translate our biological insights into tools that make treatments safer, cheaper and more accessible.”

“As an ex-healthcare professional, the situation with social care is really shocking. We have a national health service, but no equivalent in social care. Instead, things are done in 153 different ways across 153 different local authorities.”

"I always knew I wanted to study abroad. It's not without its challenges; you are pushed out of your comfort zone. However, the experience has taught me that I can do anything."

"Christmas has always been complicated for me. Even now, with my own family, I still feel it. Growing up in care, Christmas was a constant reminder of what was missing."

"Seeing someone who looks like you succeed despite societal barriers is transformative; it plants seeds of possibility in minds that might otherwise doubt their potential."

“I hated going to school. I hated its structure. I saw so much unfairness in it. I noticed that sometimes the good kids would get told off for nothing, because they couldn’t deal with the kids that actually were causing trouble.”

"After a long day of studying, teaching my dance class is the best feeling ever."

"Ours wasn’t just a flat - it was a home. A little pocket of joy tucked away in the chaos of student life."

"Being Deaf is not something sad and grey; it is instead another way of seeing the world."

“When I look back on my time at the University of York, it’s with a mixture of nostalgia, gratitude and disbelief at how much those years shaped who I am today.”

“Failing is not an option. Whatever physical pain I’m in will never compare to the pain of losing Roudhan.”

“My mum didn’t go to university, as she was 18 when she had me. She grew up with me since she was only a kid when she had me, which made things complicated because I wasn’t getting what others were – a parent who could guide me into university life."

"Once you start searching, the animals are there, in newspaper articles, diaries, letters, photographs, paintings and material culture. Though curated by humans, these written and physical remains give us an insight into how animals lived and died in the past."

“A lot of my course in first year was spent online due to the pandemic, and so joining hockey helped me to meet people, get out of the house and give me a structure to my day."

“If you had told me when I was 16 that I would be the second female president ever of the Boat Club, that I would’ve trialled for Team GB, I never would’ve believed you.”

"In York I wake up in the morning and can walk the streets without looking over my shoulder because I feel deep inside me there is something telling me that nobody is watching or coming after my trail in the morning."

"Pantomime has been around for hundreds of years and has probably been a lot of people’s first experience of drag, mine included.

"Education has a profound impact on communities. I’ve seen this firsthand with the indigenous people I’ve worked with. Education is life-affirming and serves as an inspiration for not just the students, but for the entire community."

“I think for everyone in research, there’ll be a moment when you’ll find out something that nobody else on the planet knows... those are the times you live for.”

We’ve likely all seen forensic anthropologists on TV solving crimes - but how does one get started on such a fascinating career?

“I’m the type of person that feels compelled to try to solve any problem, even if it’s only a dangling doorknob."

“As a child I dreamed of studying at the very highest level and I always worked really hard. But after completing my BSc, I didn’t want to burden my family with the additional costs of funding further studies."

“The University of York is a really significant cultural presence in the city of York and I’m sure it will remain relevant to the project.”

“Political go-betweens have played significant roles in international politics and world history, but it's not a commonly studied area of research."

Howard achieved his PhD at the age of 71 - and then added another distinction to his name.

“I had a really good experience studying chemistry overall. All the lecturers were really passionate about what they were teaching."

“I came to York as I thought that it would be really great to be able to immerse myself in a different type of culture, especially when I'm diving into a new field."

"Receiving the YGRS scholarship has allowed me to continue what has become a lifelong pursuit of education."

“I’d tell people to keep going and don’t be afraid to try. Don’t be afraid to dream.”

"I really enjoy my job; if I could I would spend all my time in meetings talking to researchers!"

“I always want great things to add to my CV, I’ve always been very conscious that’s something I need to think about."

“I decided to come to Europe to study because Digital Archaeology is a new field that we don’t have in Latin America."

“It’s been a great, great experience with great people and great scholars. I just keep on seeing little bits of what I’ve learned throughout the journey used in my day-to-day life, so it’s definitely beneficial."

"I wanted to come to the medieval city of York because there was so much I could learn here."

"The highlight of my time here so far has been witnessing the perseverance of staff and students during such trying times."

"As somebody with a love for news and broadcasting, the presence of award-winning student media outlets, and so many students with shared interests, made this university hard to compete with for me."