Simmies Spotlight: Building Strong Communities

We think St Mary’s University’s students and alumni (Simmies) are pretty amazing. That’s why, to keep everyone updated with what Simmies are doing to support their communities whilst we all practise social distancing, we are starting a ‘Simmies Spotlight’! Here are some of the great stories we’ve heard so far.

Joe Wicks – Becomes the Nation’s PE teacher

One of our most famous alumni Joe Wicks, @TheBodyCoach, has taken the country by storm with his daily PE Lessons. Joe is helping the country keep fit whilst schools & colleges are closed, live streaming lessons on YouTube to almost a million homes at 9am every week day! He’s recently announced that he is donating all of his advertising revenue for the videos to the NHS.

Tayla Porter – Paramedic Makes Headlines

Recent alumna and paramedic Tayla Porter made headlines after her entire street greeted her with a round of applause before she left for her shift that evening. She wouldn’t be home for the national #ClapForTheNHS celebration.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Tayla’s mum Ali said, “It was overwhelming for all of us. Tayla just couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that people would even notice what she's doing. She just loves her job”.

Sports Journalism Masters Students – Create an International Podcast

The MA Sports Journalism programme draws Simmies from all around the world to train at St Mary’s. As part of the degree, students get to work on the editorial team of the programme’s digital publication The Sports Gazette.

It would take more a shift to online teaching and the closing international borders to stop our students from delivering excellent content. Simmies have written articles on Coronavirus’s (COVID-19) impact on sport and created a special podcast episode to share their experiences of the situation in their countries.

Share Your Stories

We want to share your YouTube channels, social media accounts and stories with the St Mary’s community. If you or a Simmie you know is doing something special to help other people during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions, please let us know by email at press.office@stmarys.ac.uk.