Great Adventures and Misadventures: students discover paths taken by Exeter alumni

L-R: Jo Miller, Ricardo Pachón and Akshat Rathi

‘Careers are an adventure’ was the message from three outstanding Exonians who joined us for our first ever ‘Lunch and Learn’ event in Hilary Term.

Award-winning entrepreneur and poet, Jo Miller (1987, English), Vice President at Credit Suisse, Ricardo Pachon (2006, Numerical Analysis), and journalist Akshat Rathi (2008, Organic Chemistry) captivated our student audience with their tales of adventures and misadventures as they set out on their respective careers.

Akshat, who recently joined former Rector, Dame Frances Cairncross, on her panel to review local media, advised, ‘Careers are rarely a straightforward path. Treat them as an extension of the adventure that is university.’

Prateek Gupta (2017, DPhil) was among the current Exeter students who welcomed hearing our alumni reflect on their transition out of academic life. Afterwards he acknowledged that the panel allowed him to appreciate the variety of options open to Exeter graduates. ‘Some of our doubts and fears are unfounded’, he said.

Trinity Term will see the second Lunch and Learn to connect alumni with students. If you are interested in returning to Oxford and volunteering your time to mentor our current students, please reach out by emailing development@exeter.ox.ac.uk.