Graduation – The End of an Era

Last Thursday my time as a student at Leicester officially came to an end with my graduation. After 4 years of hard work it was lovely to have the opportunity to celebrate and receive my degree certificate. It was a fantastic day and wonderful to see everyone celebrating their successes with friends and family.

The day started early, as although my ceremony started at 11 am I had lots to do beforehand. After collecting my gown and mortarboard (which are just as uncomfortable to wear as they look) I headed to the students’ union to have my photo taken by the official photographers. As nice as the recent warm and sunny weather we’ve been getting is, I would have preferred it to be a little bit cooler on graduation day, as walking around in a heavy gown all day does get very hot. Following this and lots more photos around campus it was time to head to De Montfort Hall to register for the ceremony. The hall was packed with graduates and their families celebrating each others’ successes.

After watching lots of biological sciences students walking across the stage, my time to graduate started getting closer. Even though the only thing that you have to do is walk across the stage and shake hands, I suddenly got really nervous before it was my time. What if I somehow got it wrong or fell over with everyone watching me? Thankfully I managed to shake hands with the vice chancellor without incident and officially became a University of Leicester graduate. Along with the several hundred other students graduating in the same ceremony as me, an honorary doctorate was presented to Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, presenter of The Sky at Night. Maggie gave a fantastic and inspirational speech.

After the ceremony it was the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment reception, where department prizes were awarded and students and staff celebrated together. It was lovely to be able to share the day with my peers and some of the members of staff who have helped us get to where we are now!

It was lovely to see the successes of lots of my fellow students and would like to wish all of them every success in the future!