Star O'Donnell

Star O’Donnell was born in 1991 in Milton Keynes and grew up in Stony Stratford. She is Head of Media Studies at the Radcliffe School. Currently she lives in Hanslope, a large village which she says feels safe, with a lot of green spaces. She had a great childhood because her mum drove, so they would visit places like the city centre, parks and playgrounds. As a teenager, she used buses to go to the city centre, bowling or to Xscape. As an older teenager she felt the nightlife was limited; it wasn’t safe, as a young female, to walk around between bars and clubs.

At the age of seventeen she began working as a teaching assistant at Bushfield School. After moving to the Radcliffe School, she met her husband and did her teaching degree at Northampton University whilst still working. She enjoys working at the Radcliffe because she feels it serves the community well, with excellent pastoral care for its students. She would like to see a campus university come to Milton Keynes, to bring a diverse mix of young people to the city.

She has seen the city change, through building and expansion, and she worries about the impact on the eco system and flooding. She feels we should be celebrating the beauty and history of Milton Keynes and places like Stony Stratford and Olney. She believes the layout of the city can make people feel cut off; she became pregnant with her first child in the pandemic and felt isolated because it wasn’t easy to walk to central amenities and see other people, unlike in places like Bedford. She would like to see better public transport in Milton Keynes, such as the introduction of trams.