As four musicians strutted on to the stage to play tracks from their album ‘DNA Unwinding’, a gaggle of friends in the dark, achingly trendy London nightclub roared with approval. Like countless friendships and shindigs around the world, this one had roots that were first planted at Goodenough College.
In October 2009, Roundstone, an alternative rock band, launched their first album, one of many milestones made possible by leafy Mecklenburgh Square. That’s where three of the band members originally rubbed shoulders, including Dominic Scott, an Irishman who once delighted college members with engagingly witty piano songs about elephants and Prince William; Andrew Morgan, an American composer who once penned a piece for the BBC World Service featuring college members reading in various languages; and Al Watson, a Kiwi who played a role in commandeering the pool table that now resides at William Goodenough House (WGH), the former site of Virginia and Leonard Woolf’s famed Hogarth Press.
And the Australian artist, Indian architect, Canadian consultant, Australian lawyer, Italian professor and
Canadian philosopher clapping manically and wolfwhistling at the back of the bar? They first bumped into each other at the College as well.
Nestled in the centre of London, Goodenough is responsible for forging connections between Calgary and
Cape Town, Singapore and Sydney, and most places in between. Randomly stick a pin on a map of the world and chances are that a graduate of the College resides within couch-crashing distance. As of April 2010, people from 154 nations have called Goodenough home.
International friendships are not born overnight, but by living, dining and studying side by side; members
from far-flung corners of the planet inevitably mix and mingle and create lasting bonds. And Goodenough itself plays an active role in the entangling of cultures by promoting a vast sea of activities. For instance, in 2010, there are over 50 official student-run clubs that members can join, including the Opera Club, the Live Poets’ Society, the Beyond the M25 Club and the Beer Appreciation Society.
