University Centre Croydon (UCC) celebrated the exceptional talent and success of its Higher Education students at its graduation ceremonies on Tuesday 24th January and Wednesday 1st February.
Held at Croydon College, a first for UCC graduations, over 200 graduates were joined by almost 1,000 guests. The events were attended by Professor Clare Mackie, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Sussex and Gordon Smith, Chairman of the College Governors, both of whom delivered speeches of encouragement and praise to the graduates and their guests.
Professor Mackie fittingly quoted the late Nelson Mandela, who said, ‘“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.’ Gordon Smith invited everyone to stand and applaud the graduates for their hard work and great success.
Students graduated from UCC in a variety of disciplines, including from Art, Design & Media to Business, Public Health & Social Care, Law, Criminology, Early Childhood Studies and Human Resource Management.
Attendees were treated to the amazing talents of current Croydon School of Art students including Cyan Low who sang hit songs such as the inspirational ‘Who you are’ by Jesse J and Croydon native Lianne La Havas’s ‘Lost and Found’. A video uploaded to Twitter of Cyan’s outstanding rendition led to recognition from Lianne herself! Cyan also sang ‘Confetti’ and was accompanied by Level 3 student, Seyi Dada on the electric guitar.
Several awards were presented across the different cohorts including Most Inspirational Business Student of the Year, which was received by Louise Collin and the Fashion Design and Production Award for Notable Achievement, awarded to Sarah Boadu. UCC also presented the awards for the winners of this year’s Principal’s Award, and Chair of Governors’ Award.
After the ceremonies, the graduates proceeded through the college and were met by cheers and gasps by current FE and HE students. They then gathered to take the somewhat obligatory ‘hat-throw’ photo. Graduates of Public Health and Social Care and Early Childhood Studies had their moment captured by a drone, which hovered gently above them, a memorable experience for all who witnessed it.
At the receptions, the graduates and their guests celebrated with selfies using the personalised UCC Snapchat filter and in a fun photo booth with silly props! Current School of Art student Luis John took to the keyboard and kept all entertained as he played a medley of famous hits from Stevie Wonder to Rihanna.
Principal and CEO Frances Wadsworth, who is extremely proud of the new graduates and excited for Croydon’s future added, “Graduation is an important day not just for the graduates- but also for Croydon, as it marks success for our whole community. The Local Authority, the college and all of our strategic partners are committed to the economic development and regeneration of Croydon and we all recognise that the knowledge, skills and expertise associated with a well- educated and highly trained workforce is fundamental if that commitment is to be delivered. The new skills and qualifications add to the talent pool available in Croydon”.
You can find more photos from the graduation ceremonies on our Facebook.
Congratulations to our Class of 2016!
If you would like more information about our Higher Education courses run at UCC, please visit www.croydon.ac.uk/en/university-centre
UCC offers many Degree level qualifications with most validated by the University of Sussex – UCC, the largest provider of Higher Education courses in the local area.
Croydon College is one of the largest providers of Further and Higher Education courses in the South East. It offers more than 350 qualifications.
UCC, incorporating the Croydon School of Art is an official partner of the highly respected University of Sussex, which is ranked amongst the top universities in the UK. Most of its Higher Education provision is validated by the University of Sussex.
For more information please contact 020 8760 5914 or go to www.croydon.ac.uk
