It’s no secret that many a Varsity hack harbours dreams of a career in journalism: to be an eyewitness to history being made, to interrogate world leaders on the toughest issues, or perhaps for the most ambitious, to pen the speech bubbles for the cover of Private Eye. In a search for the stories of how some of today’s top journalists kicked off their careers, Vintage Varsity tracks their contributions to the paper.

Whilst in more recent times we may be more accustomed to seeing him asking the questions on BBC’s University Challenge, it was Amol Rajan who edited the paper in 2005. Less than a decade later, the keen cricketer was promoted to the position of editor of The Independent, before joining the BBC. He was not the first Varsity alum to host the notorious quiz show, with Jeremy Paxman having lead the paper in 1972. No stranger to posing inquisitorial questions to politicians throughout his career, Paxman’s notoriety even landed him a cameo in the political sitcom The Thick of It. Despite his fame and success, Paxman’s advice to one Varsity interviewer in 2008 does little to inspire any would-be journalists: “Don’t do it.”

The future achievements of Varsity’s past contributors are not, however, confined to the field of journalism. If your LinkedIn account has never featured the line ‘thrilled to announce’ the completion of your recent work experience at The Times, fear not, as writers of Varsity past have gone on to excel in a variety of fields, not least comedy. David Mitchell, in his position as Footlights President in 1995, helpfully provided a step by step guide on how to gain an allusive membership to the illustrious comedy circle. Steps four to six suggested that hopefuls “shag the President […] shag the vice-president [and] shag the junior treasurer to make sure”. Vintage Varsity can only assume such initiations have been confined to the 90s.

Famed Cambridge alumni have graced Varsity’s pages in some more unexpected sections. Sylvia Plath, better known for her literary talents, was not only featured alongside her poems in the paper, but among the fashion pages. Producing a May Week fashion guide in 1956, the poet modelled polka dot bathing suits and floral cocktail dresses. Whilst not having attended the University, another model for a later May Week fashion shoot, Cambridge local David Gilmour, went on to great acclaim as guitarist for the legendary band Pink Floyd.

Despite the abundant evidence of alumni success stories to be found in the archives, journalism, or any of the other mentioned fields, are far from easy to get into, as many a finalist or recent graduate could attest. Having a backup plan may be advised, as Oliver Duff, editor in 2003, reminded readers. In the event of his journalistic ambitions not being realised, the now editor of The i Paper admitted that “sitting on a Caribbean beach, drinking his own weight in rum each day, would suffice”. Surely few of today’s Varsity hacks could disagree.