Seven questions with... Alex Hanrahan

Why did you choose UCL?

Mostly on the reputation of the department and the university as a whole. UCL was the first university to award a degree in English and was at the forefront of revolutionising the discipline when Frank Kermode led the department in the late 60s/early 70s, and it's still an incredible place to study.

That, coupled with the ethos of equality and access to education that UCL has had since its foundation, made it the perfect place for me.

What is the most interesting thing you've done, seen or got involved with whilst at UCL? 

Well I've been working on a project over the summer called digifest. It will be a week-long festival of all things digital after reading week.

As well as having the obvious 'techie' workshops on things like coding and building your own video, we want to show the full breadth of creativity at UCL, so we'll also be having sessions on new media art, digital publishing, online activism, learning languages through social media, film and music production, a Wikipedia edit-a-thon on health articles, digital professionalism, even making your own electronic musical instrument!

The other great thing about digifest is that it's collaboratively organised by the UCL community for the UCL community: find out more on our website.

Where is your favourite place on campus?

The classics reading room in the Main Library, overlooking the Quad.

Give us your top three things to do/see/go to in London:

That's a tough question! I grew up in the outskirts and there's so much amazing stuff so narrowing it down is hard. I think my favourite thing to do is wander around and find new places, so my advice would be to get lost or jump on a bus and explore.

Holland Park is beautiful (particularly the Japanese Garden) and often overlooked, plus there's a great bookshop nearby. My last suggestion would be to sit in Maison Bertaux and eat jaw-droppingly good cake while people watching.

If you were to switch departments or courses at UCL, what would you study instead and why?

Law I think - I've always been fascinated by law. It's such a mystery, in a many ways, and yet so important. That, and I think I'd look great in a barrister's wig

Who would be your dream dinner guests?

Oscar Wilde, Maya Angelou and Dorothy Parker - I think they'd all be hilarious and teach me a lot.

What would it surprise people to know about you?

The list of jobs I've had over the years includes: IT technician, carpet fitter, and under-butler!