Celebrating an alumni friendship that has crossed decades and borders this International Friendship Day
Meet the lab partner pals whose university friendship has endured for 30 years and is still going strong – despite living in different countries!
25 July 2026
The friendships forged on campus during your student days can last a lifetime.
To celebrate International Friendship Day (30 July), we sat down with Class of 2000 Physics graduates and best mates Kevin Rose and Mark Hawthorn to hear how their friendship has endured lab technicals, Friday nights in the Union, marriage, fatherhood and moving 500 miles apart!
Hi both, happy International Friendship Day! Your friendship began almost 30 years ago as students on campus. Can you tell us how you met?
We met as lab partners in the Physics department as first year students in 1997. We both liked the same music and were as crazy as each other!
After a few nights of staying late in the labs, we found ourselves heading to the Union. The nightlife was always amazing, and Friday nights there stand out to this day.
After graduating and moving away from Newcastle, we drifted apart. But thanks to Facebook we’ve reconnected and now, despite us living in different countries now (Kevin lives in Norway and Mark in Cumbria, UK), we’re still best friends.
That’s so lovely to hear! How do you keep the friendship alive across 500+ miles and international borders?
It was a few years ago that we got back in touch with each other via Facebook. Kevin had moved to his wife’s hometown in Norway when they started a family, and Mark was in Cumbria working in decommissioning at Sellafield.
We WhatsApp each other multiple times a day and have supported each other through some really tough times. We make sure to see each other at least once a year to see England vs Scotland in the Six Nations and try to organise an annual holiday too! So far, we’ve been to Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland together and are planning something for later this year - maybe Albania.
What first brought you to Newcastle University, and what are your standout memories of your time on campus (other than meeting each other, of course)?
Mark: Newcastle stood out as a friendly and professional university that had a great Physics department - access to Kielder Observatory was also a big draw! My first year was spent at Henderson Hall before moving to Fenham, and alongside my studies, I played tennis and went swimming regularly.
The standout memory of my time at Newcastle, though, was just sitting outside the Union on a sunny afternoon with all my friends and a pint of lager between lectures. Unbeatable!
Kevin: I came to Newcastle through Clearing, having not got the grades I needed to study Maths and Physics combined. I lived at Richardson Road then Leazes Terrace and the best memories I have of my time on campus were Friday nights at the Union.
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And what is the standout memory of your friendship so far?
The holidays we’ve had together are always fun. It’s great that we can spend time together and not get on each other’s nerves! The one that stands out most is our trip to Romania – the mix of city life and chilled out beach time.
We’ve also been there for each other through dark and tough times, when we’ve really needed someone. That really stands out.
