WCS Paisley Graduation Supplement 2018
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West College Scotland <strong>Graduation</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 2016<br />
www.westcollegescotland.ac.uk<br />
Wednesday November 14, <strong>2018</strong><br />
Enjoy your moment of glory,<br />
says college’s new principal<br />
NNWHAT a privilege it is for me<br />
as the Principal of West College<br />
Scotland to host this wonderful<br />
graduation ceremony, writes Liz<br />
Connolly.<br />
It truly is the highlight of our<br />
college year.<br />
I took up the role of principal in<br />
September of this year, so this is<br />
my first round of graduations and I<br />
suspect I may be as excited as you<br />
are.<br />
This ceremony is mainly about<br />
you and your achievements.<br />
All achievements deserve to be<br />
recognised. When Neil Armstrong<br />
landed on the moon nearly 50<br />
years ago, he planted a flag,<br />
recognising America’s achievement<br />
in getting him there. Today we’ll be<br />
presenting you with a certificate to<br />
recognise your achievements.<br />
This event is also about thanking<br />
your outstanding lecturers and<br />
other college staff who helped and<br />
supported you throughout your<br />
College journey.<br />
I graduated a good number of<br />
years ago, and in some ways, it<br />
seems like only yesterday. My<br />
proud mum and dad watching the<br />
first member of our family to go to<br />
university.<br />
In other ways, it seems like a<br />
million years ago. Although it was<br />
the 1980’s, the huge changes we<br />
have witnessed since that time<br />
have been extraordinary. Back<br />
then we had no internet, email,<br />
Google, smartphones apps, iPads,<br />
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat,<br />
Tinder or Spotify.<br />
My serious point is our lives<br />
have been utterly transformed by<br />
technology in a way I could not<br />
have imagined when I graduated.<br />
But you are lucky. You are well<br />
You are taking your place in history<br />
NNWEST College Scotland is<br />
now one of the largest colleges in<br />
Scotland. We are a college that<br />
leads change, drives innovation<br />
and provides opportunities to<br />
people across the West of Scotland,<br />
writes chair of the <strong>WCS</strong> board of<br />
management Keith McKellar.<br />
We are also one with a growing<br />
reputation at national level. We<br />
teach more than 22,000 students,<br />
we work with 600 companies and<br />
we provide education for more<br />
than 4,000 pupils in 32 secondary<br />
schools.<br />
I am pleased to say our economic<br />
impact throughout the region<br />
continues to grow. We produce<br />
more than 1,000 graduates<br />
each year – graduates who will<br />
become valuable members of their<br />
community and contribute to the<br />
growth and development of the<br />
local and national economy.<br />
And, as an organisation, we<br />
employ 1,200 people and have an<br />
Liz Connelly, principal of West College Scotland<br />
qualified. You are smart. And you<br />
are able to imagine the next wave<br />
of technological change that will<br />
transform our world again.<br />
We at West College Scotland<br />
have given you the tools to go out<br />
and shape that world, to harness<br />
change and to use it for your<br />
benefit, for the benefit of your<br />
families and the benefit of your<br />
communities.<br />
Now, let me ask you to travel into<br />
the future, let’s say 20 years into<br />
Keith McKellar<br />
annual turnover of £66million.<br />
But, despite our size, we remain<br />
anchored in the communities we<br />
serve. In fact, you, our graduands,<br />
by achieving what you have<br />
achieved, are already building on<br />
the future and ask the older you<br />
some questions: Am I happy? Did<br />
I use my qualifications wisely? I<br />
hope the answer to these questions<br />
will be yes.<br />
But let’s be clear. Even if the<br />
answer to all of them is Yes, you<br />
will encounter disappointments.<br />
To get on in life you have to be<br />
motivated. Being motivated means<br />
taking risks. And taking risks<br />
means accepting failure, learning<br />
from it and bouncing back.<br />
that heritage and you can trace<br />
that heritage all the way back.<br />
Today, you are taking your place<br />
in that line of history.<br />
As you leave us and take<br />
your next steps on your journey<br />
Do not fear failure. Use failure<br />
to teach you something about<br />
yourself. Use it to become stronger,<br />
wiser and more determined.<br />
By coming to West College<br />
Scotland, you have made an<br />
investment in yourself. Make sure<br />
your precious investment is not<br />
frittered away.<br />
We are proud of you. Your family<br />
and friends are proud of you. Be<br />
proud of yourself. Enjoy your<br />
moment of glory.<br />
through life, you will see things,<br />
know things and be things that<br />
your parents and grandparents<br />
could never have dreamed of. You<br />
must take advantage of all the<br />
opportunities available to you.<br />
You are leaving here with a firm<br />
foundation – a foundation you<br />
can build on. It is a foundation<br />
that, if used properly, will be as<br />
much an instrument for good in<br />
society as anything else – and you<br />
should take pride in what you have<br />
achieved.<br />
Your families are proud of you,<br />
your friends are proud of you and<br />
we at West College Scotland are<br />
proud of you.<br />
This is one of those days that you<br />
will always remember.<br />
Graduands, today is a day of<br />
celebration, so I look forward<br />
to hearing lots of loud clapping<br />
and enthusiastic cheering as you<br />
celebrate your success and the<br />
success of your classmates.<br />
Elisha Hope<br />
Experience is<br />
key, says prizewinner<br />
Elisha<br />
NNELISHA Hope knew she<br />
wanted to enter the world of<br />
sports from an early age, but<br />
never envisaged receiving an<br />
honour for her work in the field.<br />
Elisha was the prize-winner<br />
of the HND coaching and<br />
developing sport course, and is<br />
now studying at university with<br />
a hope of getting into sports<br />
coaching.<br />
And she only has good things<br />
to say about her experience at<br />
West College Scotland.<br />
Elisha said: “I would highly<br />
recommend going to West<br />
College Scotland.”<br />
But, it wasn’t just her course<br />
which set her on the road to<br />
success. Elisha coached sport<br />
in schools in Inverclyde before<br />
she went to college, as well<br />
as with the Greenock Morton<br />
girls’ football teams. Swimming<br />
coaching was another role which<br />
Elisha took on over and above<br />
her studies, and she says all of<br />
these activities helped her gain<br />
skills and experience to transfer<br />
into the college course.<br />
Elisha added: “The biggest<br />
challenge with potentially<br />
gaining a job at the end of my<br />
course is that everyone has the<br />
same qualification. This is why<br />
it is important to go out and<br />
seek further experience and get<br />
loads of coaching practice in.”<br />
Despite admitting she kept<br />
her head down and got on<br />
with her work while at college,<br />
she was still surprised to be<br />
announced as the prize-winner.<br />
Winning the prize will<br />
undoubtedly set Elisha apart<br />
from her peers. With her<br />
extracurricular activity too, she<br />
has a strong CV.<br />
Described by her curriculum<br />
and quality leader as ‘highly<br />
regarded by her peers and<br />
tutors’, Elisha’s commitment is<br />
sure to give her a bright future.
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