The first of De Montfort University Leicester’s (DMU) winter graduation ceremonies took place today with students from the Faculty of Business and Law becoming the first of the Class of 2018 to collect their hard-earned degrees.
Hundreds of students were joined by their family and friends for the spectacular ceremony held at The Venue@DMU, which was led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard and featured a breath-taking performance from the DMU Gospel Choir.
An honorary degree was also presented to Matthew Barzun, who was appointed as USA ambassador to the United Kingdom by President Barack Obama and held the role from 2013 to 2017.
Mr Barzun, who received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws, said: “I accept this wonderful honour with gratitude, with humility and with joy.”
Qualified doctor Bernard Marden, who graduated in LLM Medical Law and Ethics, studied at DMU to enhance his existing career as a medical director of an acute hospital trust.
“It was a great ceremony, really inspiring actually,” Bernard said. “My master’s was amazing. It really opened my eyes up to a lot of things and made me think more deeply about things and it’s already proving useful in my work every day.”
Cypriot Stelios Polydorou, who graduated with a degree in Business studies, joked: “I feel really proud to have graduated and feel like I can retire! I am currently studying for a master’s in International Business and Finance at DMU so it shows how much I enjoyed my three years here studying for a degree.”
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Economics and Politics graduate Medi Ikoka, originally from Congo, said: “I enjoyed the ceremony. I thought the whole presentation was great, I didn’t think it would be like that. I’ve enjoyed my time in Leicester, everyone that I saw I liked and I loved the whole social aspect of it.”
Warren Luyt, who also picked up two prizes for best postgraduate dissertation and best performance on MSc Project Management, combined his master’s studies with a part-time job at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
He said: “I’ve enjoyed it very much, and managed to negotiate a flexible work schedule so I could attend lectures and complete assignments. It’s a full-on course and challenging but I have learned a great deal.”
Chris Potter, MSc Strategic and Digital Marketing, has started work for Leicestershire and Rutland Sport, based at Loughborough University.
He said: “It’s my dream job, I love sport and I love marketing, and so far it has been a great place to work. It feels odd to leave DMU because I went onto a Master’s straight from my undergraduate degree, but it’s given me the skills to walk straight into a great job.”
Graduation ceremonies are taking place in The Venue@DMU throughout this week, with two ceremonies on Tuesday, three on Wednesday and a further two on Thursday.
Posted on Tuesday 23 January 2018