Joy and jubilation - graduation at Solent

There is nothing quite like graduation. The jubilation, the joy. The shared spirit of celebration. Every summer, and through to autumn, hundreds of thousands of students graduate as their loved ones watch on. And behind each of these ceremonies lay an army of devoted staff working together to pull off one of the most important moments in a person’s life.

At Southampton Solent University, 2025 marks 20 years since the institution was given degree-awarding powers. In those two decades, more than 45,000 graduates have donned a gown, and a cap, and walked across a stage in that iconic final moment of a university life. The coming together of these many thousands of graduands is no small feat. In fact, each year these ceremonies take place following many months of finely tuned organisation which relies on many different sets of skills to make sure everything runs smoothly.

So, perhaps, at a time when the value of a UK university education is constantly in question, one only need pull back the curtain on a graduation ceremony to find the answer. As the news agenda continues to batter the country’s higher education system – and its people along with it – hundreds of staff collaborate to give their graduating students a day to remember. Why? Because, despite it all, it is this sector, and its students, that they unrelentingly show up for.

At Solent, graduation week begins 10 months before the very first graduate steps up on stage to that epic roar of applause. It is the meticulous work of academic registrars, technical experts, florists, photographers, musicians, caterers, ushers, academics, estates and facilities, cleaners, tailors, grounds teams, and beyond which ensure each graduation at Solent goes off without a hitch. Beyond this, it is the joint effort of a team very much behind the scenes who ensure every final grade for graduating students is processed and released on time.

It is in the build-up to graduation, and during, that the care which goes into ensuring every student gets the send-off they deserve is on full display. This isn’t merely a job, it is a vocation. Each and every member of staff is right there in the thick of it, donning their own gowns and bracing themselves against the unpredictable weather of a British summertime, because they believe in the value of higher education. Together, they proudly watch as graduates cross the stage and make their way towards limitless professional lives with a barely contained joy at the impact they will have beyond university.

Universities are special for many reasons. At its simplest, they are special because of the way staff and students root so solidly for their own community. At Solent, students volunteer to be part of graduation. They help to direct families to their seats, they sing before ceremonies begin, they show graduates where to get their gowns. They do this work of their own volition; because they simply want to help make a fellow student’s day completely perfect.

We all show up in this way because we believe in the opportunities that universities open up for students and graduates. And because, together, we want everyone else to know it, and to get behind it.