September 2, 2014, by Beth Dawson

It all started at Nottingham…

So often in life we’re told to be realistic and to take tentative steps towards our dreams – sometimes to the extent of putting them on hold and forgetting what they were in the first place.There is no wrong path to take as you aim to find your feet in the world and we are very keen to show you that the path less travelled is far from impossible. Here are some of our most inspiring stories from our alumni who made the headlines this year!

Eva and Theo’s journey

Eva Carneiro, a graduate in medicine, is frequently seen as the medic for the Chelsea football team. Previously a medic for the England Women’s football team, as well as helping athletes at the Beijing Olympics, Eva went on to join the Blues in 2009 as a reserve-team doctor. She was later brought into the first-team fold in 2011 and her success shows that her ‘evolving fascination in sports medicine’ paid off.

Another larger than life story lies with Theo James’ transition into Hollywood. Also known as Theodore Taptiklis around the University’s New Theatre, he studied philosophy with us and found his calling in the new adventure film, Divergent. He also played the main baddie James as Simon’s rival for Carly’s affection in The Inbetweeners Movie. Ironically, however, Theo became an actor only by accident. Shortly after graduating with us he chose to audition for drama school because of his girlfriend – he was successful, she wasn’t!

Breaking into the music industry

British electronic trio London Grammar, noted for their Ivor Novello award for Best Song in recent months, studied at Nottingham when lead singer Hannah Reid and guitarist Dan Rothman met one another in the halls of residence. During their time here they began playing music together and have since had several breakthroughs in the music industry. In April the Official Charts Company announced London Grammar’s If You Wait as the fifth-top selling album of 2014. We look forward to witnessing their growing rise to stardom in the future!

Celebrating our past and present

We’re only skimming the surface of our well known alumni both old and new. Eva, Theo and London Grammar are among the likes of the famous novelist D.H Lawrence, the head of MI6 Sir John Sawyers and Ibuprofen creator Dr Stewart Adams. Reflecting on our past and present means that we can celebrate what makes Nottingham so special and that’s largely down to our alumni who continue to make significant contributions in their chosen fields all over the world.

To get advice from our alumni who are in a profession or industry of your interest, take a look at our eMentoring scheme. Applications open for the scheme at the beginning of term. If you’re an alumni and interested in helping our students achieve their career ambitions there are a number of ways you can get involved.

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