Imani McEwen, 2014

Imani read Modern and Medieval Languages at Clare. She then went on to complete a Masters in Education & International Development at University College London and has since dedicated her career to helping children and young people.

Who was your greatest Clare influence and why?

Rodrigo Cacho interviewed me in December 2013.  He taught me throughout my 4 years of the Spanish part of my degree. His support and patience saw me develop my essay writing even when in my second year,  I made a tenuous link between a popular Spanish netflix series and a medieval Spanish text!

Imani's Story

Clare taught me how to relate to people from different walks of life, to persevere,  to appreciate beauty in nature and embrace my faith as an everyday part of life. I persevered while writing essays  studying Modern and Medieval Languages and 1 year of a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, so it definitely made me a more organised, resilient and confident person by the end of the 5 years. Thanks to my time at Clare, I  went on to do a Masters in Education and International Development at University College London.

Clare being the friendly college meant that  I made friends for life and pushed myself out of my comfort zone by being bold and  trying new things such as ballroom and Latin dancing in first year, coxing a college rowing boat in all 4 seasons in my second, researching black people’s contribution to Golden Age Spain in my third year abroad and trying Latin formation dancing in my fourth year.

My career has so far been very people orientated as I have worked with children and young people in a variety of ways ranging from teaching, working as part of the Test and Trace team during the pandemic, working as the children and families worker at my church and now working for the Diocese of Southwark  to help churches engage with children, young people and families.  

The opportunity to go to the college chapel and  listen to the choir at evensong and compline made me better appreciate how prayer and worship can be a very welcome part of my everyday life, rather than just on Sundays.  

Clare was also the perfect place to appreciate the beauty of nature as I absolutely love hedgehogs and there were several, along with the occasional fox and even deer!  The beautiful Fellows garden, the river and all the greenery at Clare that would change during the seasons instilled a love of nature that helped me to relax in stressful times and realise that there is always something to look forward to. 

Advice I would give to my younger self:

‘If you don’t know where you are going, know where you have come from.’
This has given me perspective and has always kept me rooted that even though I was born here in London, I am still Sierra Leonean and I am standing on the shoulders of giants as multiple generations persevered through history to get me to where I am today and I am grateful for that.