An Aberdeenshire student yesterday shared her delight at receiving a first-class degree from Aberdeen University with her family and friends.
Catriona Laidlaw picked up her LLB Law degree in the university’s Elphinstone Hall before joining her fellow class mates for a photograph.
After the jubilation of gaining her prized qualification, Miss Laidlaw said her time at university had been an experience she would cherish for a lifetime.
She explained: “I was right on the borderline, so I was absolutely overwhelmed when I found out, I checked the results and I couldn’t believe it.
“It could have gone either way for me, so when I found out, it really was a shock and telling my parents was just the best experience.
“I’m now planning to take a gap year before doing my diploma – probably back in Aberdeen – because I have loved it so much first time round.”
Originally from Kingswells, Miss Laidlaw chose to study at Aberdeen University, due to the excellent reputation of the law school.
Reflecting on her time at university, she admitted she couldn’t select any single moment that stood out as the best, but described her journey as “life-changing”.
The 21-year-old said: “University has definitely made me much stronger than I was before, I know for myself the second semester of fourth year was challenging in a few ways.
“You can feel like you have so much on your plate and it can be quite overwhelming.
“But, just knowing in the back of your mind that everything you have worked so hard for throughout your whole life, is leading up to this, was a lot to take in, so being here today has been the best.
“My degree was everything I hoped it would be after choosing Aberdeen, because the law school is so well known.
“And now, looking back, the whole experience has been so fantastic that I really cannot put it into words.”