University Centre Middlesbrough students celebrate achievements at prestigious graduation ceremony

Students celebrated their achievements and contemplated their next career steps at a prestigious graduation ceremony at Middlesbrough’s historic Town Hall.

Almost 150 higher education students from University Centre Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough College’s Higher Education provision) celebrated with friends and family as they picked up university level qualifications in a range of subjects, including Business Management, Teaching and Learning, Travel, Culinary Arts, Health, Wellbeing and Social Care, Engineering and Computing.

Among those graduating were friends and work colleagues Georgina Purvis and Wiktoria Sosnowskias, who both secured a Foundation Degree in Airport and Airline Management.

The two balanced their studies with working for low fares airline Ryanair and are now both working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Airport and Airline Management at University Centre Middlesbrough, aiming to graduate in 2025.

Georgina, 20, from Billingham, said: “We met on the course and we were doing the same job as cabin crew at Ryanair so we get on well together.

“I feel like I’ve managed to balance studies with work well – the teachers at the College have been really helpful and have helped us to fill things in when we have been at work.

“What we’ve been learning has really helped with my job – I’ve got so much more insight into the job after doing the degree.”

Georgina is now looking at either doing a Master’s degree in business management or marketing when she finishes her Bachelor’s degree or enrolling on an airline graduate training scheme.

Wiktoria, 21, from near Northallerton, said: “The two years have been really good with amazing teachers and really good support and the time has just flown by.

“Studying on the course has made me realise that this is definitely the career that I want to get into.”

Anthony Bell has already started as a trainee mechanical engineer at chemicals company Lianhetech at Seal Sands after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

The 22-year-old from Redcar started at University Centre Middlesbrough after leaving school at 16 with a Level 3 diploma and chose to study for his degree there after deciding a university environment wasn’t what he was looking for.

Anthony said: “I had smaller classes here, I got more personal teaching and the support was always there when I needed it so it has panned out really well.

“The course has already helped me a lot in my job. A lot of the things which I learned on my degree I’m now finding crop up at work so I feel it’s really given me a head start.

“I’ve been working at Lianhetech for about six months now and it’s definitely that I want to pursue.”

University Centre Middlesbrough’s Class Valedictorian of 2024 hadn’t intended to study there when she first walked through the doors.

Sarah Edwards was attending an open evening at the College with her teenage son when she got talking to one of the tutors about university degree study.

The 38-year-old had returned to her home town of Middlesbrough after working as a qualified nurse in London and was looking to pursue further study to advance her career.

Sarah explained: “I had been considering doing a degree but I couldn’t find the right course.

“I got talking to one of the tutors at the open evening who explained there was a course that was really beneficial to my career and I started from there.”

Sarah embarked on a degree in Health & Social Care at University Centre Middlesbrough, juggling study with maternity leave and looking after her three children.

She said: “Because my career had gone more into social care, I wanted to gain more knowledge and skills in that area so I could progress further.

“The course was brilliant and the students on the course, who had already gone through the Foundation degree, were very knowledgeable and welcomed me with open arms.

“I had quite a lot of sleepless nights studying whilst being on maternity leave but it was well worth it.”

Sarah qualified with a First Class Honours degree with the highest marks in her year, secured a new job as a nursing home manager and is now looking into further study programmes to advance her career.

She said: “Studying at Middlesbrough College wasn’t something I’d ever considered but I have found it to be fantastic.”

Sarah gave the Valedictory Speech in front of hundreds of guests who attended the graduation ceremony at Middlesbrough Town Hall, to watch their family and friends graduate.

The university level qualifications awarded at the ceremony included Foundation Degrees, Bachelor’s Degrees, Masters Degrees, Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, with most validated by the Open University and Pearson Education.

As well as expert teaching and first-class facilities, University Centre Middlesbrough delivers jobs-focused, flexible, affordable learning that equips students with the skills and knowledge that employers need. And the student experience is different from a traditional university, with smaller class sizes meaning more contact time with tutors.

Many of the higher education programmes at the College are available to study on a full and part-time basis too, giving students the flexibility to study around their work and home life commitments.

Find out more about Higher Education courses at University Centre Middlesbrough by clicking here.