Felisa

I came to d’Overbroeck’s from a local girls’ school. Most of my friends were leaving after O levels, and I knew that the school would not push me enough to get me a good set of A Level grades. I also needed to spread my wings and gain some self-confidence, to get out of the rather claustrophic atmosphere of a small private girl’s school. d’Overbroeck’s allowed me to do that, as well as offering me the best language teaching (and the most fun) I have ever had. Malcolm has a lot to answer for!

I got the grades I needed for university, took a year out in South America, and then went to Leeds University to study Modern Chinese Studies BA, which included a year in China. It was a great degree to do in terms of a life experience and will be something I will never forget. But ultimately it was not an area I wanted to work in, so I followed a career in Marketing, working for Dow Jones then Reuters, followed by Telewest, and ultimately Charles Schwab, the online stockbroker. Somewhere in the middle of all that I took an 18 month break, teaching English to foreign students in Australia. There I discovered scuba diving and am now counting the years for my daughter to be old enough to learn to dive- only a few years left!

I was made redundant by Charles Schwab in 2003. It was a blessing in disguise and triggered a major change in my life. I was already living back in Oxford by then, with my daughter, but constantly stressed and fed up with the long commute I was doing. So I took a break and decided to become a host family for d’Overbroeck’s!

This eventually led to a part time job in the Accommodation Office here. When I first came back to d’Overbroeck’s, as a host family landlady I couldn’t believe how many faces I still recognised from 1981 although I must admit I hardly recognised Sami. Gone was the bushy beard and shaggy hair. Sami is now a dapper clean shaven College Principal, and my boss! Working here is almost as good as being a student - almost I said! So what else do I remember from my d’Overbroeck’s student days? Mainly Malcolm and French classes and falling out of punts. We had such fun at 37 Hayfield Road, with Ruffles, lots of tea and coffee, and our lessons were a scream. Plus important, Le Ble en Herbe m’appris tellement plus que le francais….