Graduation address: Tuesday 21 June morning ceremony

Graduation address by Professor Clare Peddie, Vice-Principal Education (Proctor)

Vice-Chancellor, colleagues, special guests, and graduates, I have the honour of being one of the first to congratulate you on your success today. I cannot even begin to express how delighted we all are to welcome you back to the University and to complete your journey by celebrating your graduation in person – in the way that was always intended. This is your very special day, one of the few days in your life which is entirely focused on your own personal achievement.  

I know you are all so very excited today, and quite rightly so. However, I also know how innovative you are when it comes to organising a party, so I have no doubt that you have found your way to reconnect with your friends and recover some of those missed magical moments. I am therefore sure that some of you are also feeling slightly worse today than you had imagined; rest assured I am not going to talk for long and very soon you will be outside in the fresh air. 

Recently, in my role as Vice-Principal Education, I have found myself defending the intangible benefits of your University education; explaining that the attributes you have gained from your degree are so much more than the knowledge gained within each of your modules. When John Dewey, an American philosopher and educational reformer, said ‘education is not preparation for life, education is life itself’ he was alluding to the concept that education provides a capacity that will serve you throughout your lives. I truly believe that the attributes you take with you as you graduate today are more about the ability to learn something new, to interpret, to synthesise, to analyse, to question and reflect. These are the skills that you will need to contribute to the social, economic and sustainable future of our world no matter your chosen journey.

These graduate attributes come not only from your academic studies but also from your contribution to that intangible experience, the experience that makes you all so proud to be graduates of St Andrews. Your contributions to this experience may have been in volunteering, in supporting your friends, in caring for your academic family, engaging in sporting events, valuing diversity, contributing to student representation, or perhaps leading an inclusive social event.  The good news is that this intangible magic does not leave you today. As a graduate of St Andrews myself and the mother of two graduates, I have personally observed how the magic of being a member of this very special community and the attributes you have gained will be with you for the rest of your lives.  

One attribute that you especially have is that of resilience; the ability to achieve success whilst facing environmental adversity. In the highly collaborative Scottish higher education sector, groups from different universities have recognised the importance of resilience and have been working together to understand and develop how we support our academic communities through the pandemic.

Historically, being resilient to plague and disaster is nothing new to students at the University of St Andrews; in the 15th century the community will have experienced two bouts of plague and an English invasion in 1482; in the 16th century St Andrews experienced lots of religious murder and strife with plenty of martyrs on both sides and a siege of the castle; in 1645 the Great Plague killed thousands of people across Scotland and five years later, General George Monck, one of Cromwell's lieutenants, captured St Andrews as part of another English invasion; in the 1690s the whole of Scotland more or less went bankrupt when the Darien expeditions failed, it was Scotland’s coldest decade and famine ensued.  Thereafter things calmed down a bit until the 20th century when we had the ’Spanish Flu’.

In this historical context, the Covid pandemic could seem not much more than a minor inconvenience. Nevertheless, the pandemic has challenged your resilience as students, when you had to pivot to online learning, finish your studies and be here to celebrate your graduation today.

At this point I need to pause briefly to offer an apology, to those parents and families who, back in the second Semester of 2020, were enjoying a blissfully quiet time, free of mounds of clothes to be washed, piles of cereal bowls, and empty fridges, and then suddenly found themselves with unexpected returners to the household. It was a difficult time for everyone and thank you so much for working with us as we navigated a path through the early lockdown.  

The pandemic showed that at St Andrews we are indeed “nae bad in a crisis” and on your behalf I want to thank all the academics and professional services staff who, in a matter of days, managed to provide the last weeks of teaching, set your final examinations and confer your degrees online. They were exceptional in the way they did everything needed to support your studies – thank you so very much.

I am hoping that now on your return to St Andrews this week you find a town that is emerging from the impact of the pandemic and realise that it will remain a great constant in your life. We are always here, and you are very welcome back at any time. As educators, it always makes us happy to hear about your journey after we have finished our part in your life.

In crossing the stage today, you have already demonstrated astonishing resilience and now you can continue to proudly demonstrate the intangible magical attributes of your educational experience at the University of St Andrews wherever you go and in whatever you do.

Congratulations.