Photograph © Andrew Dunn, 20 October 2005.I went to Oxbridge. Not the kind of statement I usually bring into conversations.
What kind of image or reaction does that arose in most people? A shrug of the shoulders, a sneer, a smile? With a select few, that makes me a member of an exclusive club; with the rest of the world it usually evokes a sneer...and that makes me embarrassed and therefore annoyed at myself for being embarrassed.
Take today, when someone looked rather piercingly at me and said, "you don't have any of the usual arrogance of Oxbridge types". I didn't know what to say. In the end I settled for:
"No, I don't. I was fortunate to go there and having done so doesn't make me any better than anyone else, just luckier."
I then realised I might have come across as having confidence issues (I don't, for the record!) so I qualified it with: "There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and I have always wanted to be on the right side". The gentleman nodded, but continued to look at me in a puzzled way.
Unfortunately, the stereotypes are occasionally true, but much less so than you would think. Perhaps I should start a word of mouth campaign with my blog "Oxbridge graduates are not all arrogant". But really there is no business problem for marketing to solve, Oxbridge has no problem attracting applicants.
My real feelings about the whole Oxbridge thing is that I had some of the most amazing experiences of my life there. It is something to be proud of and it is an institution which shaped me in more ways than I care to count, but I hope in a good way.
2 comments:
Interesting post. I'm an Exeter grad myself (being a haven for Oxbridge rejects, of which I am one). So this post made me think.
With regards the chap, I'd have given him very little respect (and probably would have said something I regretted).
Be proud of where you went to University, definitely.
I won't lie, when I was first trying to get into the industry, I was pretty despondent at the (largely Oxbridge) grads I met who didn't seem to have the same passion for the industry as me, and indeed - seemed to be after a job for no real reason.
But as time's gone on, I've just realised that I can't harbour any misapprehensions about which University you went to - it's just suitability and what sort of a person you are; you can just as easily be an arrogant bugger if you went to Exeter, Oxford or Swansea.
Ultimately, University, like any experience, shapes you. Some people become better people. Some don't. Sad, but true.
well said!
Post a Comment