18/07/2025
Today was my graduation ceremony and time to reflect on my PhD journey with some very mixed feelings. Firstly Iโm proud of what Iโve achieved. Iโm not naturally someone who bigs themselves up but I think this deserves a little bit of a pat on the back. While this might be the end of my academic journey, one that started with a part time degree in 2010, itโs not the end of what I aim to achieve.
Secondly Iโm massively grateful for all the support, from my supervisors, to my wonderful wife and children, my brothers and sisters, who all gave encouragement, advice, and some banter as only brothers can do.
But there are people not here to share this occasion with me. Iโve spoken before about my mum, and how incredible she was, but you may not know that she returned to education as a mature student after having five children. Having someone role model what can be achieved as a mature student was incredibly empowering when I decided to retrain. Sadly she died before I could complete my PhD, and itโs deeply upsetting that she never saw where Iโve ended up.
Add losing mum in 2022, to the disruption due to Covid in 2020-2021, and my sister and her husband being involved in a serious car crash in 2023 and itโs maybe surprising I persisted with my research. But then... the human spirit is incredibly resolute even in the darkest times.
One of the most profound books Iโve read is Viktor Franklโs book โManโs search for meaningโ detailing his exploits in the prison camps of World War 2. In his book he outlines how people can find meaning in even the most intolerable circumstances. My circumstances werenโt close to the level of persecution and inhumanity he faced, but we can still persist through our own experiences.
โEverything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms โ to choose oneโs attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose oneโs own wayโ - Viktor Frankl
Choose your way.
