The 2014 Somerville Telethon team selection process has now finished and a fresh group of undergraduates has been chosen as callers to contact alumni during the annual College fundraiser.

16 Somerville students, eleven of them women, have been chosen to represent their College and will be paid for their participation. In September the callers will receive two days of training before spending two weeks on the phone to alumni around the world.

“The 2014 callers are quite possibly our best ever and they all share an absolute commitment to Somerville,” said Antoinette Finnegan, the College’s Annual Fund Officer and director of the Telethon. “I know how much they are looking forward to speaking with their predecessors and am sure that their enthusiasm for the College will shine through when they speak to their fellow Somervillians.”

The Telethon has been very popular with alumni in the past since it provides them with an opportunity to connect with current students at the College, and to hear all that is going on, as well as to share a few stories of their own.

“Initially I felt doubtful about donating to an Oxford College but the Telethon rekindled the sense of Somerville being ‘family’ and I was able to target my small donations towards bursaries for students who need financial support,” said Elizabeth Jones (1972, Biological & Agricultural Sciences).

At 60% participation, Somerville College has a high giving rate within its alumni body and relies more heavily than most Colleges on small donations to help it meet its annual running costs. The College is very grateful for all donations it receives.

“The telethon is a fantastic opportunity for the College to reconnect with Somervillians all over the world,” said Antoinette Finnegan, Annual Fund Officer. “Having a chat with a student and hearing the news from Somerville is a very personal way to keep in touch with the College.

“The telethon also raises much needed contributions to the Annual Fund, which supports students at College today by providing bursaries and hardship grants, additional teaching, sports equipment, travel grants and so much more,” said Finnegan.

The sixteen Telethon callers for 2014 are:

Nasim Asl (2013, English), Max Bray (2013, History), Nathalie Botcherby (2012, English), Ian Buchanan (2011, Physics), Olivia Conroy (2012, Biochemistry), Amy Fairchild (2012, Biology), Rebecca Heitlinger (2013, Modern Languages), Abdul Huson (2012, PPE), Tamanna Khan (2013, Modern Languages), Clara-Laeila Laudette (2012, English), Tooba Qadri (2012, Biochemistry), Alex Rattee (2013, PPE), Dan Smith (2013, History), Brigitte Stenhouse (2012, Mathematics), Megan Wallace (2012, Biology), Annie Whitton (2012, History).

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