Hello from Belfast – and welcome to the August edition of The eGraduate.

Marquee in the Quad? Tick. Proud parents, grandparents, partners and children? Yup. Incredible achievement beating the most extraordinary odds? We’ve got you. Seeing the next generation of Queen’s graduates climb up to the platform as they start the next stage of their lives is always so emotional – they’ve worked so hard and they’ve achieved incredible things. So, if you’ve got your hankie ready, meet some of the newly minted members of the Queen’s alumni community. 

When Lauren Crawford became a mother aged 15, everyone told her to aim lower. She didn’t. She didn’t listen when they said education was over for her; when they said that it would be too hard to complete GCSEs, and then A Levels; when they said that Queen’s wasn’t for her. It hasn’t been easy, of course not. But she did it. Read her story. 

First class degree? Tick. Startup launched? Tick. Built a racing car from scratch? Tick! Incredible Peter Gillan is a star in the making – the morning after Graduation, along with the rest of the Queen’s Formula Racing team, he set off for Silverstone to put that car through its paces. But how on Earth has he managed to squeeze everything in? He tells his Queen’s story.

Sophie O’Neill’s Granda was placed in a care home during the pandemic. He wasn’t allowed visitors. And the consequences were grave. Sophie, who has just graduated in Social Work, couldn’t stand by – so she launched a national campaign. Read why she believes telling his story matters. 

Star student Emanuel Patrick Quashie has travelled a long way to graduation. It’s not really the distance – more, all the people who have helped him along the way. As he puts it: “I’m grateful to have found a few moms along my journey whose unwavering love and support of my academic journey have helped to keep me grounded and developed my razor-sharp focus.” He explains how he travelled from the tiny island of Bequia, part of St Vincent and the Grenadines, to become one of Queen’s most highly lauded doctoral researchers.   

Being an apprentice doesn’t mean you can’t get a degree. Just ask the first ever cohort of PwC Technology Degree Apprentices who graduated with a full BSc – tuition paid, and a job at the end of it. They’ve been equipped with the skills to make an immediate contribution to the NI economy – and can’t wait to get started. Read their stories here. 

Alumni Survey : We want to hear your feedback.

We want to hear your thoughts and opinions on your experience as a Queen’s graduate. Tell us what you like about being a graduate, be it discounted gym access or careers support, and also what you’d like to see in the future. Make sure to add surveys@djsresearch.com to your address book and look out for the email from 'DJS Research' in your inbox in early September.

Save the Date : Queen's Association Events

Our graduate associations are holding a number of key events in the coming months. These include the QUAS Annual Lunch at the Apex Waterloo Place Hotel in Edinburgh on Friday 7 October, the QGA Charter Day Dinner in the Great Hall, Queen's on Friday 18 November and the QUAL Annual Dinner on Tuesday 22 November in the Royal Thames Yacht Club, London.

Best of Belfast Podcast : The State of Addiction in Northern Ireland

This ongoing series features interesting Queen's students, professors and graduates sharing their stories. This episode features Dr Anne Campbell and Professor Kathryn Higgins from Queen’s University Belfast who have both dedicated their professional careers to researching and implementing solutions around this issue.