Humans of Warwick - Alyson Quinn

Alyson Quinn

Associate Professor (Teaching Focussed), Warwick Medical School

“My grandad told me that if I worked hard at school, I could get a job in the local bakery.”

“I was a little girl when I saw something in the local paper that caught my attention. It was a group of young people smiling underneath the caption, ‘The latest graduates from our new local university, the University of Warwick’.

Growing up, I adored my gentle carpenter Grandad, so I asked him what a university was, and he said, ‘that is a place for clever, wealthy people, my dear, but not for families like ours’. But, if you work really hard at school, you could get a job at the bakery – and I would be so proud of you ’.

Sadly, my grandad passed away before I could have any further chats with him about this new local university, but he had planted the seed in my head that it wasn’t for local families. But I honoured my promise to him to work hard at school and progressed to take A-levels and thought about going to university. I asked my teacher about going to Warwick University and she said, ‘I wouldn’t even apply love, that university is impossible to get into’. This place that was so near geographically, and yet so far in terms of actually entering, was becoming my nemesis!

So, I didn’t apply to Warwick, but I did go to university, and after getting my degree, I taught English all over the world and back in the UK, I taught in primary and secondary schools. It’s been such an interesting journey. I’ve taught people from the age of eight all the way up to the age of 80. Eventually, I came to Warwick to do my master’s degree and later took up my current post at Warwick Medical School. After all that time, I had stepped into this out of reach place!

My lovely Grandad never got to see me crossing onto the campus we talked about when I was a little girl, all those years ago. When I was made Associate Professor, I took my new business card which said Alyson Quinn, Associate Professor, University of Warwick, to his grave and wrote on it ‘I did it, Grandad’.I know that he’d be very proud of me, as I was of him.

I understand why Grandad said that to me all those years ago though. At that time Warwick did have a local reputation as being an ‘ivory tower’. That’s all different now, of course, and I love the wide mix of people that are on campus, people from all walks of life.

And as for the baking, well, I did go on to win prizes for my secret recipe Lemon Drizzle cake!”