Inspiring words underpin winter graduation ceremonies

Two inspiring individuals were awarded honorary degrees as Glasgow Caledonian University's winter graduation ceremonies got under way at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall.

Laura Boyd, an alumna of Glasgow Caledonian University and an award-winning journalist, received a Doctor of Letters; and Satwat Rehman, Chief Executive of One Parent Families Scotland and Co-chair of The Just Transition Commission, was honoured with a Doctor of the University, as they joined 947 graduands.

With a 20-year career in media, Laura has interviewed global celebrities and currently serves as STV News’ Entertainment Reporter. She has dedicated herself to charity work, raising awareness for cancer and surrogacy issues after her own experiences with chronic myeloid leukaemia. A dedicated advocate for Glasgow Caledonian’s media programmes, Laura continues to inspire through her public engagement and storytelling.

She told graduands: “It’s an absolute honour to be here, accepting an honorary doctorate from the university that helped shape not only my career, but the person I am today. It doesn’t feel that long ago I was sitting where you are now, wondering what the future would hold. Never did I imagine that, all these years later, I’d be standing here receiving a doctorate.

“I studied Communication and Mass Media, and I’ll tell you, I heard the same warning over and over: ‘It’s so hard to get a job in TV; it’s an industry so many want to break into, so few make it.’ I knew that. But my time at Glasgow Caledonian gave me something crucial: the belief that it was possible. It gave me the confidence to think that the world could be my oyster. And my goal? STV.

“I now get to do what I love. I chat with people like Lewis Capaldi, Margot Robbie, and Paul Mescal — even interviewing my teenage crush, Robbie Williams. It never feels normal, but it’s a joy I never take for granted. University life played a huge role in that, and I still apply the lessons I learned here to my job every day.

“Each of you will face your own highs and lows, and trust me, I’ve had mine. In 2009, I was diagnosed with leukaemia. At the time, I thought my life was over. But here I am, 15 years later, alive and well, with a beautiful family, a cheeky little girl, and still doing what I love. That’s thanks to people like those at Glasgow’s Beatson Hospital. Their expertise and compassion carried me through the darkest times. It wasn’t just their medical care — it was their kindness and humanity that made all the difference. They showed me that the greatest gift you can give someone is not just your knowledge, but your heart.

“So, as you step into the world, know this: you will face challenges. But I promise you, those tough times won’t last forever. And in those moments, remember the impact you can have on someone’s life. You may not even realise it at first, but your actions, your care, will matter.”

Satwat Rehman was honoured for her dedication to equality and social justice. With more than three decades of work in equalities, education, and economic development, she has championed the rights of single-parent families in Scotland. Her collaboration with Glasgow Caledonian University’s Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit has been instrumental in shaping impactful research and policy initiatives.

She told graduands: “When I began my journey, I could never have imagined that I would find myself here today, recognised for efforts to address the profound inequalities that persist in our society.

“What has driven me through my life, from my early teens, has been a desire to make a difference — to work with others towards a society where structures and systems do not pre-determine your outcomes and journey; where a young working-class girl of Pakistani origin is not laughed at for wanting change things for the better; where her father is not stuck in low paid work with no prospect of change and so he has no option but to relocate and start his own small business; where her mother is not regarded as unintelligent because she never went to school; or where her older brother is not regarded as not being academic because English is not his first language, and therefore he has ‘no language’.

“It was when I made sense of these experiences and understood that these were not just one-off incidents experienced only by us, that the fire in me was ignited. Whatever I ended up doing, I knew then that I had to believe it would make a difference.

“Inequality, in its many forms, is a pervasive force that divides us — whether by race, gender, income, disability, it is built into the systems and structures of our society.

“Tackling inequality is not a task that can be completed in one lifetime or by any single individual. It is an ongoing endeavour, a journey that requires us all to come together, to challenge systems that perpetuate harm, and to invest in the creation of equity of opportunity and outcomes for all.

“I will end with a quote from Angela Davis: ‘You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time’.”