David Thomas: My Story

Growing up in Wales, Essex was another world, and another country, but I was looking forward to striking out on my own and beginning ‘life’ as I saw it at the time. I was the first person in my family ever to go to university and back in the 1980s this was a big thing. I attended an open day in February 1987, and I instantly fell in love with the place and resolved that this was the only university option for me.

Essex had been my first choice, and I really wasn’t interested in any of my other UCCA choices. The course was a huge draw for me, West European Politics and Languages, perfect for my linguistic aspirations and political interests. I had always been interested in politics and Essex’s radical history was a draw. Coming from Wales, I had not grown up around a lot of different cultures, and I was immediately struck by the huge international student base there was here at Essex, which I loved and embraced. An integral part of my course was travel and to spend a year abroad, I chose to spend my year in Mexico.

With Essex being a campus University and spending my first year living in Eddington Tower, I felt it gave me a strong sense of identification and belonging within the University. Essex gave me the opportunity to follow my interests and develop as a person, it was an education in every respect, in terms of my academic and personal development.

When I left Essex, I immediately got stuck in and had various graduate jobs in London with multi-national companies. Eventually, I moved into the world of education and one of my most recent roles was running a group of international schools in the UK and Middle East and then eventually becoming the Chair of the group. I feel very lucky that my degree had such an impact on my career. Since retiring from the corporate world, I moved back to Wales where I bought a small farm and opened an organic gin distillery which has been a successful endeavour.

Being at Essex ignited a love for learning and I have continued to pursue professional and personal qualifications over the years. When I moved back to Wales from London, I decided to start learning Welsh as an adult beginner. In 2021, I was named Welsh Learner of the Year, and I have since acted as an advocate and ambassador for Welsh adult learners. As I am semi-retired now, I also decided to return to the academic world, and I am currently studying for an MA in Welsh and Celtic Studies at Aberystwyth University.

Since I arrived at Essex in 1987, the world of LGBTQ+ rights has changed beyond recognition. I could not have envisaged being allowed to marry another man or openly run a business with him in rural Wales as we do now. Both would have been unthinkable at the time. I never faced any kind of discrimination at Essex and being there gave me an insight into who I was as a person, at a time when ‘fitting in’ seemed so important. By the time I had left the University, I had learnt that it was ok not to fit in, or to find my group of people where I could fit in.

Whilst growing up and studying at the University of Essex, my LGBTQ+ hero was Patrick Trevor Roper. He was an eye surgeon who was brave enough to appear before the Wolfenden Committee in the 1950’s. His bravery during this time meant he could use his lived experience to inform the work of committee, eventually leading to decriminalisation in 1967. Patrick was also a founder member of the Terence Higgins Trust.

In the next ten years, I hope that the University continues to be a welcoming diverse community. I have always associated Essex with the cause of progressing human rights, both within the faculty and student body, and in the research that Essex has undertaken over the years in various fields. Many Essex alumni have gone on to trailblaze in extending LGTBQ+ rights, both here in the UK and around the world.

Essex truly put me on a different path in life.