Keren Elton's story

Keren Elton is from Canada originally, and now lives and works in the UK.

Keren feels that the Commonwealth has strong roots in her family, as well as in her life experiences. She says, “My grandmother, a Brit, moved around the Commonwealth working as a nurse. It was during a trip to Canada that she met my grandfather, a Canadian, and eventually settled in Canada.”

Keren remembers being inspired by her grandmother’s travel tales from a young age - about the interesting things she saw, the people she met, and the experiences she had. In this same spirit, Keren embarked on her own travels, including time spent living and working in both Tanzania and India. It was the opportunity to study that brought Keren to the UK originally. She received a UK government-sponsored scholarship to study MSc Migration, Mobility and Development at SOAS, University of London.

Keren says, “I think studying in the UK (and particularly at SOAS) exposed me to different people, with different experiences and perspectives, from around the world. Studying abroad expanded my horizons in a way that studying in Canada would not have – and given my particular topic (migration and development), it enriched my learning experience.”

It was whilst studying that Keren met her partner, whose background is also rooted in the Commonwealth (born in India and raised in New Zealand). Now settled in the UK, Keren still feels strong connections to Canada, and now India and New Zealand. She says, “My family history and personal experiences are a wonderful representation of the spirit of the Commonwealth.”

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