We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Mariama Ifode as our new Community Engagement and Outreach Officer. This is a part-time fixed-term appointment, which will involve the development of our engagement with the local community and outreach among local residents, including students and staff of the University.

Mariama has been involved in community engagement from a young age. As a teenager she sat on the International Youth Board of Free the Children, a non-profit organisation based in Toronto, whose focus was promoting children’s rights and youth empowerment. During her time as an undergraduate at the University of St Andrews she collaborated with the Simon Community Scotland to raise awareness about homelessness.

An MPhil in European Literature and Culture at the University of Cambridge was followed by a PhD in Spanish, also at Cambridge. As a graduate student, Mariama helped to coordinate a summer school in Berkshire (2005 - 2014) for students from inner-city London. She also worked to raise funds for the Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre. As a Fulbright Scholar to New York University (2009 - 2010) she volunteered at the New York City Rescue Mission, America’s oldest homeless shelter.

Mariama has taught Spanish at both secondary and tertiary levels in the UK. She became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2013. In 2014 - 2015, she also served as Lay Chaplain at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. She is a qualified careers and guidance practitioner, and has worked as an independent Careers Consultant and as Head of Careers in schools. She is a volunteer adviser for Mybigcareer, a charity that provides free career guidance to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. She also currently sits on the Editorial Board of Magnet, an ecumenical Christian magazine published by Hymns Ancient and Modern. We look forward to welcoming her to the team in September.

Loving God, look on us with eyes of compassion; call us with the word of forgiveness, again and again, that we may at last hear and see, and know ourselves accepted and embraced, loved beyond measure and without reserve through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Revd Dr William Lamb

Vicar