Oliver Markeson
Student spotlight details
Oliver graduated from the Master's in Literature and Arts with a distinction and went on to co-found 'adh_we', an agency working to improve consumer experiences for neurodivergent individuals.
'When asked in my Oxford master's interview if I was interested in ultimately proceeding to a DPhil (PhD), I tried not to laugh at the absurdity of the thought. In the eyes of my friends, the last person in the world to be asked that question would be me. They’ve watched me over the past years, and all signs would point in the opposite direction.
'After school, and fresh from a frantic gap year in the British Army, I joined the University of St Andrews. I promptly skipped lectures, barely read a book, and just about got by with a 2:1. Friends looked on incredulously as I filled my days with every distraction possible, organising fashion shows, ‘raves’ and balls. In my final year, I sat on the board of governors for the University, and the irony of my adjudicating over friend’s graduation ceremonies didn’t go unnoticed. I felt like I was constantly blagging it, making up for a lack of knowledge with an increasingly effusive outer ‘confidence’.
'The charge continued after University. I passed the entrance test to P&G, much to the surprise of my friends, and moved my life to Switzerland. And yet when life was best, friends, apartment, job, were sacrificed as I searched for the next thing. Into London, and a career as a Strategist in advertising. Then I deconstructed again, this time back to the army, where I felt I had unfinished business. By rather cruel twist of fate, it was my body and not my mind which did the deconstructing this time, as I lost significant levels of hearing towards the end of training, and returned to advertising.
'I held a number of roles leading the strategy for large advertising accounts, before almost becoming an English teacher, and then joining Richard Branson’s family office at Virgin. I then felt a sudden, gut-wrenching realisation that my brain was crying out for the academic stimulation I had never been able to focus on. I chuckled to myself passing through Oxford on the train one day, thinking how Oxford tutors wouldn’t take any prisoners. The seed was planted, and I fell in love with the thought of studying on the Master's in Literature and Arts, bridging the humanities in the understanding of culture.
'I met with Dr Cathy Oakes who ran the course, and declared outright the state of my undergraduate transcript. I could tell by her twinkling eyes that I’d come to the right place, as she declared life would be terribly boring if Oxford only took people with the strongest of undergraduate degrees. We agreed I should give it a go.
'My old university were as surprised as my friends were, but jumped to help, sharing essay titles for me to consider as part of my application. A painful coffee fuelled month ensued. Forcing myself to read and write with care and attention, my brain was in self-help mode. To then be offered a place was powerfully disarming - my effusive outer shell had been immaterial in the process.
'When filling in the paperwork to accept my place, a cleverly worded question caught my eye. “Do you have, or think you might have, learning difficulties like Dyslexia or ADHD”. My guard being down, I phoned the Disability Services. It took thirty-four years to finally realise I have ADHD. A spinning fly wheel that saw me constantly seeking the stimulation my brain was chemically short of. I had sub-consciously avoided the things I would find hardest, and went in search of anything else at the expense of things I loved.
'Once known, we could seek to manage my ADHD. A few weeks later, I sat in class and followed every word for the first time in my life. Then walked out of the room, and burst into floods of tears.
'I found great strength from my classmates, and great strength from the support of tutors. But importantly I found strength in my own vulnerability.'
