Graduation Stories

Exam time for most students means late nights cramming ahead of the big day but for Catherine Guthrie, burning the candle at both ends is never an option.  The 21-year-old suffers from a rare metabolic condition which means over exertion makes her so ill she can require hospital treatment.

Walking down the graduation aisle will be the first step in a 10,000 mile journey across the world for a group of engineering graduates. Putting their mechanical skills to the test, Lewis Houston (24) and Craig Morrison (22), both of Aberdeen, Fraser Galbraith (22) of Edinburgh and Jonathan Findlay (25) of Fraserburgh, will soon depart for the where they will drive across half the world for the charity CLAN. Teaming up as the 'Friengineers', they will journey across deserts and mountains in their tiny car nicknamed, 'Suzy the Suzuki'.

A passion for debating has inspired a legal career for Katherine Duncan but there is no argument over the 21 year-old's success as she graduates today with a First-class Honours degree.For the former Robert Gordon's College pupil, collecting an MA in history marks the first step towards her ultimate ambition to become a barrister.Katherine, who lives in Spring Gardens, Aberdeen, was inspired to enter the legal profession through her involvement in debating at the University.

Four years ago, Paul Murray was in hospital learning how to walk, talk and speak again after major brain surgery to remove a tumour. Today he collects a degree in music - an achievement all the more remarkable because he had also had to teach himself how to play his instrument all over again after his tumour - and multiple sclerosis - left him partially paralysed.

Four decades after she first graduated in Aberdeen, former Portsoy Primary School Head Teacher, Lorna Summers returned to the classroom - this time to complete a Master of Letters degree. Lorna, 64, from Macduff, has earned an MLitt with Distinction in Ethnology and Folklore, which she completed at the University's Elphinstone Institute.

Friends for life and now fellow graduates, best friends Catriona Harvey (24) and Lisa Rennie (23) graduate together with degrees in Medicine. Since meeting at Culloden Academy in Inverness, the pair have walked step by step through their academic journey, both choosing to study at the University of Aberdeen and living together throughout their time at the institution.