Yasmin On Route To Achieving Academic Ambition
19 November 2012
Graduate Yasmin Rajab at the awards ceremony
I am proud to have achieved all that I have here at Buxton, and I know my parents are too.
”A student who left the Middle East for an English education has achieved an excellent result in her studies; a First Class Honours degree from the University of Derby Buxton and the Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Academic Excellence.
For Yasmin Rajab, 21, originally from Kuwait but now living in Pickering, North Yorkshire, her graduation ceremony was a significant step on the way to fulfilling her ambition of becoming an academic in the UK; a dream that began as she attended the New English School, Kuwait.
Yasmin, who graduated with a BA (Hons) Public Relations and Events Management degree from the University at its annual awards ceremony on Saturday (November 17), said: "At my school there were children of more than 55 nationalities. I was able to grow up with children from across the globe so I really got to understand many different traditions and cultures.
"Most summers we would travel to England to visit my grandparents, and I had a strong bond to the UK and a desire to travel here to study.
"While in Kuwait I did some voluntary work at my school and assisted at the local museum with some exhibitions. The head of the PR department recommended that I should perhaps study PR or event management of some kind. The University of Derby Buxton had the course that I had been looking for, and also had a great reputation."
Her experiences and opportunity to learn and develop at University, confirmed her choice to study in the UK, and ultimately led her to achieve a First Class Honours degree and the Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Academic Excellence.
Yasmin added: "I think it was during my second year that I came to understand professional development as a means of moving into the next stage of one's learning curve and self-analysis.
"I knew this subject matter would be highly relevant now that working in teams and groups has become the norm in the workplace and so I chose to carry out my final year independent study into this area. I also felt that it would be fundamental in terms of my future.
"I am proud to have achieved all that I have here at Buxton, and I know my parents are too."
Yasmin's parents travelled from Kuwait to watch as she graduated alongside 300 of her fellow students at the ceremony, at the University's Grade II* Listed Devonshire Dome Campus.
She now hopes to pursue a PhD and become an academic and one day become a leading figure in her field.
Julian Robinson, Programme Leader on the Events Management degree said: "We were delighted to see Yasmin graduate, and take home the Vice-Chancellor's Prize. She fully deserved this recognition for her hard work and dedication to her studies."
For more information on studying at the University of Derby Buxton visit www.derby.ac.uk/udb.
