Honorary Graduates Dr Catherine Raines and Joyce D'Silva
In recognition of their outstanding contributions to society, both globally and within the UK, Dr Catherine Raines and Joyce D’Silva have been awarded Honorary Degrees.
In recognition of her local, national and international contribution to business and industry in both the public and private sectors, Dr Catherine Raines has been awarded Doctor of the University.
Catherine commented: “It’s just fantastic to be recognised in this way - I was born in Staffordshire, within 40 miles of the University, and within a year of Keele being granted University status. It’s fantastic to be associated with this area - notwithstanding the fact that my job is a global one, I’ve done a lot of work in and around Staffordshire, so it’s just great to be honoured in this way by Keele.”
Dr Catherine Raines is Director General of International Trade and Investment, the government’s global organisation that delivers advice, support, advocacy and promotion to facilitate UK trade and investment worldwide.
Speaking about the global opportunities students can explore, Catherine said:
“A global perspective is really important for students, not only because the world is becoming a smaller place, but because learning about different systems, different cultures, different values, makes us much more rounded people, more able to interact and critically assess and analyse the situations we’re in.”
“My advice to students would be: don’t allow yourselves to be defined too early. Maybe don’t allow yourselves to ever be defined at all. I went to university to study Pharmacy, and the job I do now bears almost no relation to the degree I studied. I never would have thought that I’d end up holding a role as a diplomat in China, or leading the Government's efforts on trade and inward investment globally. The world really is your oyster, so go out there and grab all the opportunities that are available to you.”
In recognition of her services to animal welfare and her dedication to making the world a better place for animals and people alike, Joyce D’Silva has been awarded Doctor of the University.
Joyce commented:
“Obviously, I’m personally honoured, but I think it’s also a recognition of the organisation I’ve spent the last 30 years of my working life with, Compassion in World Farming, so it’s really recognition of all of our work we’ve been doing.”
Offering advice to students as they graduate this week, Joyce said:
“A lot of students are very anxious about just getting a job - maybe it’s not until they’ve got their first job that they think about is this what I want to do, what career path they see themselves on - and that can change. So be open to thinking about ‘where do I want to be, what do I want to do with my life?’ A lot of students perhaps don’t think about working in the charity sector or for NGOs, because it’s not seen as being where the big money is - quite rightly - but it may be where you get satisfaction in your heart, and that’s probably, in the end, about as important I should think.”