Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Students get final words of wisdom as graduations come to a close

Post Thumbnail

An Aberdeen University alumni yesterday brought the curtain down on the last day of university graduations.

Pamela Gillies addressed budding scientists while they collected their degrees in biomedical sciences, anatomy and pharmacology.

Professor Gillies is currently principal and vice-chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University and, during her speech, offered plenty of food for thought for the new graduates.

She said: “I have been fortunate in life to find work that I love doing and which I am passionately committed to, but do I have any advice for you? – well, no.

“The actress Emma Thompson’s mum Phyllida Law, told the students at one of our recent graduations in Glasgow, that whilst she often listened politely to the advice other people eagerly offered, she rarely took it, trusting in her own inner voice.

“She added the only advice she had ever found helpful was “never put your tomatoes in the fridge” and we know how right that is.

“So, trust in your inner voice and be guided by your own very special intellect, imagination and moral compass.

“I know that each and every one of you is already primed to make a difference to the communities we all live in and serve. As my Chancellor, Nobel Laureate, Muhammad Yunus would say: ‘you are not future leaders, each and every one of you is a leader now in your own way”.

Prof Gillies was the first in her family to sample campus life, attending Aberdeen University from which she graduated in 1976 with a BSc in Physiology, a PGCE and a Masters in Education and Philosophy.

Yesterday, she was awarded an honorary degree, Doctor of Science.

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 New Year Honours for her services to education and public health.

She added: “Thank you again so much for my Honorary Doctor of Science award and for allowing me to share this special day with you.”

Among the graduands yesterday was Pascal Michael, who has appeared on the TV programme Gogglebox, and was completing his degree in neurology.

He was joined by his parents, brother and two sisters who had recently completed a 12-day road-trip around Aberdeen.

As the first of his siblings to study in Aberdeen, he said: “I was really enamoured of the city when I first moved here, and spending four years at Aberdeen University has been an honour and a privilege.

“Having my whole family here in Scotland today to celebrate has been absolutely glorious, despite the grey weather.

“It was actually on the episode I appeared on Gogglebox, my dad arranged [the trip], and I travelled from Aberdeen to surprise my mum which was fantastic.”

Mr Michael’s mum, Carolyne added: “I thought he was in Aberdeen, so when he walked in [to the family’s house in Brighton] I couldn’t believe it.

“It was just fantastic and we are all immensely proud of him today.”