Zoe loved Birmingham, the place and the University, and many of the people she met there became lifelong friends.
She was passionate about Archaeology and Ancient History and while she knew she would never get a job using it, this interest stood her in good stead enriching her later travels to places such as Syria and Jordan.
Zoe's lifelong passion was travelling. Immediately after graduating she taught English in Ghana through Voluntary Services Overseas. A year working for the Royal College of Physicians followed before the lure of West Africa called her back where, between 1969 and 1972, she was the PA for the Vice Chancellor of the Amadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. A life changing experience.
Zoe remained in education for the majority of her career, with her final role being Academic Registrar for The Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She held a variety of roles with the Council for National Academic Awards rising to Head of Conferment and time in administrative roles for the Royal College of Art.
It was Zoe's love of travelling and adventure though that dominated her life. She described herself as being lucky enough to have seen and sometimes lived in some wonderful places before the concrete block hotels and fish and chips of mass tourism took over. Here's just a taste - 20 trips to Cyprus, 20 to Spain, even more to France, plus India, Egypt, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Syria and many, many more. Travelling and meeting so many people gave her a wide-angle lens on life; nourishing and sustaining her.
Despite Zoe passing in 2018, her gift is supporting the challenge of COVID-19 and the threat of future pandemics. Her wish was to support scientific research and her gift is helping to fund vital PhD research across a number of different areas:
- Kerensa Ward, working under the supervision of Professor Alex Richter, worked in a diagnostic lab during the pandemic to support testing. With the support of gifts like Zoe's, she is now a PhD student investigating the impact COVID-19 has on our body's immune system – most notably for sufferers of long COVID.
- Research in our School of Education into the use of technology to ensure everyone has access to learn remotely during the pandemic, so the disruption to education is minimised. Bethan Morris-Tran has received funding for a PhD in the School of Education – more information is available.
- A new dentistry PhD studentship to explore the implications of COVID-19 on the profession.
While her family do not know why Zoe chose to support scientific research with a gift in her will, they believe that she would have been pleased to know that her gift was being used in a pivotal role in the global challenge to beat COVID-19. Zoe's niece, Kate, told us what it meant to them as a family to see Zoe's gift put into action: 'The fact that there were student volunteers as well as paid scientists would also have resonated with her. We are sure Zoe would have been pleased to know that her legacy was being used to improve life for future generations.'
Zoe could never have predicted a worldwide pandemic, but she would have been thrilled to know that she had left money to help solve a global issue that didn’t even exist at the time of making her will. No one knows what the future holds, but there will always be someone who needs help and a problem that needs to be solved.