When Fraser Borthwick made the decision to completely change direction at university, he was unsure if he would be successful.
But yesterday, his boldness was rewarded when he proudly picked up a master’s with distinction in oil and gas enterprise management from Aberdeen University.
The 28-year-old, from Huntly, collected his degree in the historic surroundings of Elphinstone Hall, watched on by his gran, Elizabeth Henderson
Speaking after the ceremony, he said he was “very proud” of what he had achieved.
And he added: “I graduated in media studies in 2011, but it didn’t seem like there were many opportunities for me.
“I love Aberdeen and wanted to stay here, so I decided that the best option for me would be to understand oil and gas a bit better.
“It was a bit daunting when I first started the course because all my classmates were either engineers or economists, whereas I had no background in it.
“So, to be sitting here now with a distinction makes me really proud.”
Mr Borthwick has secured a job with Clydesdale Bank, but has ambitions of working in the health and safety sector of the offshore industry in the future after a successful internship with Petrofac.
He said: “I helped to design a health and safety pack which basically was trying to help people look at their jobs differently to help prevent disasters like Piper Alpha in the future.”
And while he is looking forward to his job, which he starts on Monday, Mr Borthwick admitted he was sad to leave the course behind.
He said: “There were only four UK students in the class, including me, so you got to know people from all walks of life and I’ll miss that.”