Hua Ai

The freedom to explore unconventional ideas

What I loved most about Goldsmiths was its intellectual generosity: the freedom to explore unconventional ideas without feeling that curiosity needed permission.

I remember Richard McDonald welcoming a rather flâneur-like essay of mine, wandering through Riga and examining how racial and cultural gazes reveal the power dynamics between Western and Eastern Europe. Richard Smith’s extraordinary patience with my dissertation was another gift I will always cherish.

I was equally fascinated by the feminist scholarship of Catherine Rottenberg, Lisa Blackman and Valerie Walkerdine, whose examinations of cinema and popular culture encouraged me to reconsider the seemingly ordinary.

Philosophical and imaginative conversations

I also treasure Goldsmiths for its wonderfully philosophical conversations. Among the academics whose work particularly intrigued me was Dr Callum, whose research ambitions I found fascinating. I won’t venture into politics here but do ask him about his research. I suspect you won’t be disappointed.

Goldsmiths taught me that intellectual rigour need not come at the expense of imagination. More importantly, it gave me a rare feeling of peace: the freedom to think independently, question confidently, and remain entirely myself.

Lessons learnt and life after Goldsmiths

Coming from a background in English Literature, I had long been accustomed to classical texts, elaborate intellectual traditions and occasionally rather esoteric ways of expressing ideas. Goldsmiths helped me recognise that intellectual sophistication means very little if it cannot communicate with the wider world.

Studying media encouraged me to write with greater accessibility, clarity and panache, without sacrificing complexity or originality. This has influenced both my literary practice and my professional work in higher education, where I now support students with their careers and professional development.

Since completing my MA, my poetry chapbook 'Exiles Across Time' has been published with a foreword by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, and I have been invited to speak at the 2027 AWP Conference.

I would never attribute these achievements to a single institution. Nevertheless, Goldsmiths helped me become a more adaptable thinker, a more communicative writer, and someone increasingly confident in bringing unconventional ideas into public conversation.

Space to grow and develop your practice: an international perspective

As an English-as-a-second-language writer from Shanghai, I have always been conscious of the distance between finding one’s voice and feeling comfortable expressing it in another language.

At Goldsmiths, I experienced something particularly precious: peace. I never felt that my background made my ideas less worthy of consideration, nor did I feel pressured to explain every aspect of my cultural or intellectual identity.

I was already writing creatively during my MA, although, looking back, my literary craftsmanship was considerably less developed than it is today. I rarely discussed my writing with others. I have always valued privacy, particularly when an idea is still in its embryonic stages.

Yet I instinctively understood that my intellectual outlook would not feel estranged at Goldsmiths, even without being publicly articulated.

For an international student, belonging does not necessarily mean becoming visible. Sometimes, it simply means knowing that you are free to exist, think and grow without having to justify yourself.

Fond memories of many corners of campus

I have a particular affection for the Goldsmiths Students’ Union bar. I’m hardly a connoisseur of expensive drinks: give me reasonable prices, a comforting soda, and rustic wooden tables reminiscent of a Spanish bistro, and you have probably won my heart.

For reading, I preferred the quiet of an empty classroom in the Stuart Hall Building. For writing, nothing quite compared with the library at night.

I once fell asleep there after finishing a chapter, rather romantically imagining Stuart Hall’s intellectual spirit keeping me company. A security officer even softened his footsteps as he passed. It remains one of my fondest memories.

What I loved about Goldsmiths was how naturally intellectual life blended into everyday existence. Between the lively atmosphere of the Students’ Union, the peaceful classrooms and the extraordinary stillness of the overnight library, I found countless little corners in which to think, write and simply be myself.

Goldsmiths, to me, was never just a campus. It was a place where thinking felt wonderfully alive.

Advice for future students

My advice is simple: read beyond your syllabus, question what you are taught, and never surrender your intellectual independence merely to sound agreeable.

University is not simply a place to accumulate qualifications or perfect the art of academic citation. It is an opportunity to discover which questions genuinely matter to you, including those you may not yet have the vocabulary to articulate.

Speak to your lecturers. Some of my most memorable encounters at Goldsmiths began with a question that developed into a much longer philosophical conversation. Don’t be afraid of intellectual disagreement, either. It is often where your thinking becomes most interesting.

As someone who now works in student employability, I would also encourage students to think about how their knowledge can engage with the world beyond university.

Above all, retain your curiosity. A degree may conclude after a few years; a genuinely inquisitive mind should remain unfinished for a lifetime.