Birthday Buddies

Ahead of the University’s 125th birthday celebrations on 25 May, we asked our ‘Birthday Buddies’ (members of our community who share a birthday with the University) to tell us their stories of celebrating.

Steve Dalton (BEng Electronic Engineering, 1996)Group of five friends gathered outdoors near a brick house, enjoying a casual barbecue with sauce and food in hand.

‘This is me and my housemates from our shared house in my final year of university. We lived on Heeley Road, right next to Selly Oak station. It was a great mix of a house with lots of people always dropping by frm a diverse group of friends.

In this photo, we are attempting to BBQ something around the time of my 22nd birthday in 1996 – I seem to remember we were pretty terrible. This is a skill I’ve thankfully now mastered after living in Australia for the last 25 years!’

Graduate in black gown and red dress holding a diploma, standing in front of a brick wall with a golden lion emblem on a pink background.

Saloni Bhattacharyya (BSc Clinical Anatomy, 2022; MBChB Clinical Medicine, 2024)

‘The University and I will be celebrating significant birthdays this year, with the University being exactly 100 years older than me! While it may be a coincidence, I would still like to believe destiny was at play when I began Medicine at Birmingham seven years ago.

Though our exams would be around this time, I did celebrate with my friends by walking through Winterbourne gardens, spending time on the Green Heart and attending the Bramall concerts. The most special was probably last year when I found out I became a doctor on campus just two days before my birthday!’

Person holding a University of Birmingham Global Alumni Gathering flag in front of a historic red brick building with Japanese flags in the background.

Stephen K Chand International Recruitment Operations Officer / Administrator for East Asia and Central Asia, University of Birmingham

‘I’m a proud Staff Birthday Buddy! I always celebrate with my wonderful work colleagues on campus. If not in Bratby Bar, I used to bring in a batch of freshly made, world famous “Momma Chand’s home made samosas” to enjoy in the Green Heart – a tradition that’s always a hit with work friends, old and new. One year, I spent my birthday in Tokyo, where I had the chance to attend a Global Alumni Gathering. It was a memorable way to celebrate – halfway around the world, but still with the University in mind.’

Two-tiered cream cake decorated with gold and black balloons, graduation cap silhouettes, and a red clock tower topper celebrating 125 years of Birmingham Gives.

To help celebrate our 125th anniversary and first-ever giving day, Birmingham graduate and Birthday Buddy Katie Keates (LLB Law with French, 2011), owner of The Real Cake Company, baked an impressive cake!

How did you celebrate your birthday when you were a student? Email us and let us know.