{"id":14025,"date":"2024-12-16T14:54:24","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T14:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=14025"},"modified":"2024-12-16T14:54:25","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T14:54:25","slug":"forty-year-friendships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/12\/16\/forty-year-friendships\/","title":{"rendered":"Forty Year Friendships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“The friends I made at the University of Reading have been the most important, and the most long-standing, friendships of my life,” shared alumnus Simon Gordon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simon, who graduated from computer science<\/a> in 1987, recently reunited with his fellow Reading alumnus, mathematics graduate David Goff. This reunion sparked the realisation for Simon of just how significant his University friends have been to him over the past 40 years.<\/p>\n

\"Simon
Simon and his son, with David and his wife<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Simon said: \u201cEarlier this year I met up with a great friend, David, and his wife. David reminded me that it\u2019s been 40 years since we met in our first week at Reading, during a maths module we were both taking.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince graduating we\u2019ve stayed in touch. We used to regularly meet on campus to play squash and have a pint. We also house-shared for several years, took some holidays together, and I was even his best man at his wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Simon
Simon and his son, with David and his wife<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pair recently met up in 2024 to reminisce over lunch in Chichester, while Simon was on a visit to the UK from the USA.<\/p>\n

Simon shared: \u201cWe spoke fondly, but sadly, of another friend from our University days \u2013 Sean Ellis, who studied computer science and cybernetics \u2013 who passed unexpectedly a few years ago.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAs we talked I couldn\u2019t help but think of two things: one \u2013 the friends I made at the University of Reading have been the most important, and the most long-standing, friendships of my life; two \u2013 I couldn\u2019t imagine back then the life I would have over the next 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Taking risks and seizing opportunities<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Simon\u2019s career has seen him travel all around the globe, and he now works in Silicon Valley in the USA as Director of Product Line Management at Dell Technologies<\/a>. He credits his time at Reading, and the support of friends, with helping him to achieve his career goals.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI chose to study at Reading because I liked the rich content of the computer science degree.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt was my time at Reading that gave me the confidence to take risks in life and see where they would take me. Some didn\u2019t work out, but even events such as being made redundant always led to great opportunities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMy career started fairly humbly as a programmer in the defence sector. Over the last four decades it has evolved in terms of industry, job function, location and travel, in the most surprising ways. I\u2019ve gone onto work in systems integration, consultancy, presales, sales, marketing and product management for a number of technology companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done things I never thought I would do \u2013 I\u2019ve stood on stage in front of hundreds of people to talk about tech; I wrote code for space rockets \u2013 or, more correctly, launch vehicles; I made a coffee cup holder out of the printed circuit board of a ground-to-air missile; I\u2019ve collaborated with the people mapping the human genome. It\u2019s all been an incredible experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learnt so much at University, but I have never stopped learning. Reading gave me the insight to see opportunities, the confidence to take risks, and the self-knowledge to know that I don\u2019t know it all and to be able to ask for help.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI learnt that what matters are the people you spend time with on the journey, and enjoying each day and each situation for what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Treasured friendships<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Simon\u2019s story of how his friends have supported him and even changed his life over the years is heart-warming to hear, and is an important reminder of how positive it can be to stay in touch with people.<\/p>\n

He shared: \u201cIt\u2019s 40 years since I started my undergraduate degree at the University of Reading, and this year I will be 60 years old. As a student I had no idea where my decision to study at Reading would take me.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cLife threw us curve balls along the way, but no matter how bad things seemed at the time, we got through those events. My friends have always been there for me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe people I met along the way also changed my life \u2013 I became friends with one of the founders of a start-up I worked at and he persuaded me to move to the USA in my 40s. It was here in the States that I met my wife and had my son who is now in high school. I now live in the heart of the Silicon Valley where I have worked for the last 15 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon shares his advice for students and graduates in the hope that others can take what he was able to take from his time at University, into life after graduation.\u00a0He said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMy advice for the students of today and to new graduates leaving the University \u2013 enjoy the journey, take risks, follow your heart, take help when its offered, give help to others when you can, and stay in touch with people from Reading.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAbove all I learnt that you don\u2019t know what you are capable of unless and until you try. I have no regrets and I will always treasure my time at the University of Reading and be thankful for where life has taken me.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are thinking about organising your own alumni reunion and would like some advice and support, please email alumni@reading.ac.uk<\/a>. You can also\u00a0find out more information about organising your own reunion here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The friends I made at the University of Reading have been the most important, and the most long-standing, friendships of my life,” shared alumnus Simon Gordon. Simon, who graduated from computer science in 1987, recently reunited with his fellow Reading alumnus, mathematics graduate David Goff. This reunion sparked the realisation for Simon of just how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":14040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[185,54,17,119,122,143,186,189],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nForty Year Friendships - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Computer science alumnus, Simon Gordon, reflects on forty years of friendship since graduating from the University of Reading.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/12\/16\/forty-year-friendships\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Forty Year Friendships - Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Computer science alumnus, Simon Gordon, reflects on forty years of friendship since graduating from the University of Reading.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/12\/16\/forty-year-friendships\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-16T14:54:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-16T14:54:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/12\/Headers-1600-x-550-54.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/12\/16\/forty-year-friendships\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/12\/16\/forty-year-friendships\/\",\"name\":\"Forty Year Friendships - 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