Jack Docherty would never have predicted studying politics and religion could lead to his current senior managerial role in the fast-moving world of Amazon UK’s operations. He credits the “soft skills” the subject gave him for the progress he has made - once he had a clear picture of where he wanted to head.

Now working as a Senior Operations Manager in an Amazon sortation centre in Leeds, Docherty is responsible for everything relating to the building, whether that’s the building itself or the sizeable team on site.

His time at Lancaster, studying for joint honours in Politics and Religious Studies gave him the chance to work on the people skills he knew would be essential in a career in management: “The big gain from Lancaster is that by studying religion and politics, you have a greater understanding of the different elements of society,” he explains. “I work in a very diverse environment and the soft skills I have gained have given me the ability to progress in Amazon.”

For more information: Jack Docherty, Politics and Religious Studies, 2013, County

Imisi Adefala graduated in 2015 with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from Lancaster. Here Imisi shares his journey from securing funding to buy his first camera from the Lancaster University Students Union (LUSU) to managing shoots in cities such as London, New York and LA.

“I started my first business in year 3 at primary school where I charged students to play basketball with me. I have been attempting different business ideas ever since. My entrepreneurial spirit has led me and my business partners to create something really special, the Content Farm app. It's a platform that enables business owners to get lifestyle content from across the world with models at a fraction of the typical time and cost.

LUSU played a massive part in my story. Whilst I was at Lancaster I created a business to showcase different societies through video and due to this I had regular meetings with Joe Bourne from LUSU on how to make the business profitable. I also had to present a business proposal to LUSU to get funding for my first camera which they accepted. That whole process was invaluable because I learnt so many skills and they taught me so much which encouraged me to progress. My favourite memory was organising a zoom call with alumnus, Top Gear’s James May where we gave students the opportunity to ask him questions and for James to talk about his journey as a Lancaster student.

For more information: Imisi Adafala, PPE, 2015, Lonsdale

A relationship forged between two men in Kabul through their Lancaster University alumni bond resulted in what they describe as a race against the clock for survival.

Aziz Amin (MA Conflict, Development and Security 2017, Graduate) was working as Special Secretary and Personal Assistant of President Ghani (President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) in the first half of 2021, when he met Dr Greg Mills (MA International Relations & Strategic Studies, 1986, PhD Politics, 1990, Fylde).

Visiting Afghanistan in February to complete research for a book, Dr Mills stayed at the Presidential Palace as a personal guest of President Ghani. Aziz was involved in ensuring his stay was comfortable, and through their regular conversations, the two men discovered their shared link to Lancaster as former students in the Department of Politics and International Relations, albeit 30 years apart. Dr Mills said of their meeting, “There was an immediate degree of trust established because of our common experience at Lancaster University. We were a South African and a young Afghan with nothing to bind us but that. We had an immediate connection and I knew I would keep an eye out for him in future.” The two men connected and remained in touch.

For more information: Aziz Amin, MA Conflict, Development and Security, 2017 Graduate

Hamza Dalvi (Politics, 2022, Grizedale) tells how supporting young students locally whilst at Lancaster led to retaining links with his University after graduation. He recently assisted the Widening Participation team in organising a University insight session at a mosque in Birmingham.

"My time at university was epitomised by the work I did outside of my studies. I sought out opportunities from my first year of study to support young students in the local area before taking on a role as a Role Model Student Ambassador in my final year. During this year, I also became President of the Islamic Society on campus.

In between my second and third year of study, I undertook a placement year at Burnley College, which provided me with a plethora of useful skills and opportunities, as well as insights into the educational experiences of students from deprived areas, and Muslim students in particular. This heavily informed my final year dissertation, which further explored the Muslim student experience in sixth form colleges across the UK. The opportunities I was exposed to during my time at university have made for a seamless transition into the workplace.

I currently work as a graduate consultant at Mott MacDonald, supporting various infrastructure schemes across the country. I work with clients like National Highways, local councils, and government departments to deliver key projects.

For more information: Hamza Helps to Widen Participation for Lancaster

Neil Coley (History & Politics, 1973, Furness) tells how his time at Lancaster and thoughts linked to plans for a reunion has influenced his forthcoming novel, The Cold Distance.

"The Cold Distance is my second novel. It is a murder mystery story partly set at a northern university in the 1970s and partly in the present day where a writer of crime fiction is planning a reunion of his university friends.

Back in 2020 I had begun to think about organising such a reunion as most of my friends along with myself had started at Lancaster fifty years before. Then Covid came along and I had to shelve those particular plans. So, as I’d always fancied writing a crime novel, a classic whodunit, it was an easy leap to put the two ideas together and come up with The Cold Distance, a story of murder, regret, forgotten memories, sex, drugs and rock and roll. (The novel has its own, in my view, excellent playlist.)

The ‘70s setting of The University of the North is loosely based on the Lancaster University I knew at the time. I graduated in 1973 and after doing a Postgrad Education Certificate spent thirty-odd years teaching in secondary and middle schools in Staffordshire. Retiring in 2009 I decided that writing, rather than watching daytime television, would be the activity that would occupy most of my time. I’d always dabbled a bit in writing but while working had never found the time to do it on a regular basis. My first book was a collection of short stories about Lichfield where I have lived for many years. They were tales set at different time periods in the city’s history. I then wrote five other books about Lichfield and its history before deciding to write a novel. The result was An Alien Autumn, which is set in the London of 1888 and involves undercover extraterrestrials joining the hunt for the serial killer, Jack the Ripper and it was published in 2021.

For more information: Murder Mystery With A Lancaster Influence

To call The Rev'd Canon Dr Rachel Mann’s time at university transformational, would be an understatement. Not only did she arrive presenting as male and leave having transitioned to become a woman, but she also turned her back on atheism to discover her unexpected vocation as an Anglican priest.

Even from her current perspective as a high-profile speaker on religious, philosophical and trans matters as well as an author, poet and recently appointed full-time Archdeacon of Bolton and Salford, Rachel (MA Philosophy 1993, BA Philosophy, 1991, Cartmel) finds it difficult to view this extreme time of turmoil with clarity, but she has no hesitation in acknowledging the deep debt of gratitude she feels she owes Lancaster.

“My experience of transition - which was absolutely necessary and absolutely right - was at the same time intensely difficult,” she recalls. “I could not have transitioned in the way I did, with a sense of completeness and wholeness, if I had not done it in a place where I felt safe and held.”

Rachel speaks of her undergraduate years with happiness. This was the late eighties and the skinny youth with dreadlocks from Worcestershire she was then, was after fun and to prove herself in every way, including how well she could handle ‘this guy thing’. She had, from the age of five, felt uncomfortable about being seen as a boy.

She’d fallen in love with Lancaster on sight at an open day. “The level of welcome from the Philosophy Department blew my mind,” she reminisces. “I have never forgotten that sense of ‘we are absolutely delighted that you are here’ and that mattered so much more to me at the time than anything else.”

For more information: Rachel Mann, MA Philosophy, 1993, BA Philosophy, 1991, Cartmel