Lisa Barrington, 2005

Lisa read Arabic and Russian at Clare, including a year abroad in Syria, and has an MA from Lund University. She is currently a senior correspondent with Reuters news agency in the United Arab Emirates, and before that in Lebanon.  

Who was your greatest Clare influence and why?

To this day the catering team’s inspired use of fruit – kiwis, strawberries, apples - in the buttery salads remains a culinary influence.

On the academic front, Rachael Harris, my director of studies and Arabic teacher, was an inspiring role model at that time for having achieved such skill in a learned language. And, among the stresses and confidence crises of undergraduates, Dr. Harris was always an oasis of calm.   

Lisa's Story

I don’t know where the epithet came from but I had heard Clare described as the ‘friendly college’ by a friend of a friend at Cambridge. That, and the fact it could offer an Arabic teacher as director of studies, is how I chose Clare.

Luckily the badge proved accurate and the student body was welcoming and laid back – but with a fun splash of Cambridge pomp in the formal dining halls, historic buildings and world-class gardens.

Arriving at Clare opened up a world of people, opinions, activities, social interactions and expectations so vastly beyond what I had previously known it was at times overwhelming, intimidating.

And that is perhaps the greatest lesson from my time at Clare: How to exist in, contribute to and grow in the unfamiliar, the challenging, the failures.

Travel grants I received while at Clare took me to Russia, Israel, Syria and Lebanon in trips that would shape my winding career path and help me pass my degree.

While Buildings Officer for the student union I learned my first lesson in policy development: think realistically about the user. Buoyed by successfully installing recycling boxes in student kitchens, I then introduced compost boxes which required regular emptying outside. A smelly, mouldy mistake.

Clare friends and experiences will remain for life, no matter how far you scatter in time or space. And wherever I am in the world there is usually a Clare or Cambridge connection somewhere nearby to help out or hang out. 

I took up long distance cycling in Dubai a few years ago and each time I push up to the top of the only hill on the desert track I remember the view of Clare bridge during my daily cycle over the steep Garret Hostel Lane river crossing.