Graduation address: Professor Ineke De Moortel

Friday 27 June 2014

Chancellor, honoured guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.

First and foremost, of course, my warmest congratulations to all our new graduates. You have had to work hard to get to this day but now you are here, in your smart clothes and in these splendid gowns. Congratulations, to every single one of you.

To all the parents attending today’s ceremony, congratulations go to you too. You also had to work hard, to get to this day. Just over a year ago, I attended my oldest son’s graduation, from nursery. And although we all proudly watched those five-year olds totter over their stage (some of them still had to be helped up the steps), I know I have a lot of hard work to do, before I arrive where you are today. So, I very much hope that you enjoy today’s celebrations. And even though they might forget about you a little in the midst of all their elation and desire to spend just a bit more time with their St Andrews friends, I am sure our new graduates are grateful for all your support.

Dear graduates, today is all about you. But, in the midst of all your joy and celebration, please do take a moment to quietly thank all of those who have helped you along the way. Your family and friends, of course, but equally, the small army of people at this University, who are not sitting on the stage behind me; the people who have worked tirelessly over the last few weeks to make sure you appeared on stage in the right order, for the right degree. Those who made sure you were registered for the right degree in the first place. Those who have prepared this hall for today’s ceremony and those who gave your gown and hood a quick tug so it looked perfect as you returned to your seat. Janitors, cleaners, caterers – a large number of people are working extra hard, to give you the perfect day. But not only are they working extra hard today, they have done so every day during your time in St Andrews, to keep this University running. So, whenever you meet one of them today, please give them a smile and a quiet thank you.

Feel free of course, to also thank my colleagues who are sitting on the stage behind me. They have worked equally hard and are pleased and proud to see another cohort graduate. Yes, quite a bit of sighing and even some grumbling goes on as we are marking exams, finding mistakes you should not have made, but we do know we are privileged to be teaching at St Andrews and teaching you has been rewarding and fun. This is a small university and, over the years, we have got to know you well, so we are glad to see all of you here today, and just a little sad to see you leave (although it does mean that, for a few months, the queues in Tesco will be a lot shorter).

This mixture of emotions is what makes graduation ceremonies so special. It is all about your achievements. You have made it, finally. You are proud, and so you should be. You want to celebrate, and so you should. But graduations are also a little sad; the end of something very special, the beginning of something different and unknown. Whatever comes next it will not be quite the same. Some of you might already have jobs to go to, some have decided to keep studying for a little longer and some of you might not yet know what is coming next. Most of you are probably fed up with people asking you, ‘What next?’, so I will not ask. I will merely wish all of you well, in whatever you choose to do next. And I am confident that you are ready to take on whatever comes your way.

Why am I confident? Because of all the Economics and Mathematics we have spent the last few years teaching you? Partially, but do not worry, we know you have forgotten quite a bit of it already. No, it is not just that.

You have learned so much more during your time here, from the lectures you attended and also from the ones you did not attend. It might take you a few more years to figure out all the other things you have learned, apart from the ‘stuff’ you scribbled furiously in those exam scripts. And some of it will never be entirely clear.

Let us think back a few years, to when you first arrived in this rather windy outpost. You stood on Market Street with maps, wondering where to go, whilst the rest of us smiled. By now, you also know that you do not really need a map in St Andrews. You had to find supermarkets, banks, and possibly a few pubs. I suspect you will all agree it is quite a different person who just walked over this stage.

You have learned very obvious and practical things, such as doing your own laundry, cooking food and budgeting your finances. But that stuff you would probably have learned anyway. So what is it then? You have probably learned determination and perseverance too. For those of you who took my Solar Class, it is what you learned from a lecturer who cheerfully ignores your ‘I don’t know’ and makes you answer the question anyway, figuring out the answer from whatever you do know. But that is still not quite it, is it?

No, it is what you learned from those enlightening discussions; solving the world’s problems in your kitchen at three fifteen in the morning, after a couple of bottles of wine, and from then making it through your tutorial at nine the next morning with a nasty headache. It is what you learned from jumping in the North Sea at 5am on the first of May. From long windy walks on the West Sands, when it probably started to rain just as you were at the furthest point. It’s what you learned from giving your best friend a shoulder to cry on, and from crying on their shoulder a few weeks later. From putting woolly hats on in May because the haar has come in, whilst the rest of the country basks in the sunshine. And it is what you learned from those occasional glorious sunny days, when life just seems perfect. Lifelong friendships and memories, which will forever be a part of you. All these things make you St Andrews graduates. As you can see from my gown, I am also a St Andrews graduate (and yes, so is my husband).

So to conclude, all you new St Andrews graduates, let me thank you, for being our students, congratulate you one final time, and wish all of you the best of luck. Take St Andrews out to the world and excel, as you did here. Let us know what you get up to and how you get on. Whenever you come back to visit, please come and see us; after all, you will not need to bring a map to find your way around!