THOUSANDS of joyful students and their families gathered at Essex University's Colchester Campus to take part in summer graduation.  
 
The university welcomed people from across the UK and the globe for the week-long celebration, which included 11 ceremonies. 
 
Among those celebrating was Hannah Eadie, from West Bergholt, who graduated with a BA Events Management from the Edge Hotel School.  
 
Hannah will now be working full-time at Ipswich Town Football Club, planning and coordinating a range of events hosted at Portman Road. 

Knowledge - Graduate Hannah Eadie said her degree's knowledge was vital for her Knowledge - Graduate Hannah Eadie said her degree's knowledge was vital for the events industry (Image: Christian Leppich and Ben Taylor)
Regarding her university education, Hannah said: “It gave me knowledge in all aspects of the events industry, which I am able to demonstrate within the workplace, in areas such as financial and operational planning.” 

Perspectives - Graduate Gemma Smith said the university benefits from the perspectives of students from across the worldPerspectives - Graduate Gemma Smith said the university benefits from the perspectives of students from across the world (Image: Christian Leppich and Ben Taylor)
 
Elsewhere, Gemma Smith, who graduated with a BA Social Change, made the most of her time at Essex, taking part in a work placement at Spains Hall Estate in Finchingfield and running the Clothing Exchange, a student pop-up shop selling second-hand clothes.  
 
Gemma said: “There’s a good sense of community and varied volunteering, societies and clubs at Essex.  
 
“It is a very diverse university with people with different stories to tell and different perspectives on the world.” 

Societies - Graduate Georgina Keller from New Zealand said she loved the societies at the University of EssexSocieties - Graduate Georgina Keller from New Zealand said she loved the societies at the University of Essex (Image: Christian Leppich and Ben Taylor)
 
Georgina Keller moved from New Zealand to study at Essex. She graduated with a BSc Computer Science and will begin a job in software engineering later this year.  
 
Georgina said: “There are some amazing lecturers and wonderful societies at Essex. I think one of the best things about the University is the student-led societies.” 
 
She added: “Since my last two summers were taken up by internships, I'll be spending this summer enjoying my free time. 
 
“I've got a few festivals, and climbing trips planned and I'm just going to use the next few months to relax.” 

Essex University is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2024, with a two-year special campaign running across both the 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 academic years. 

As part of this campaign, the university has launched a 'Sixty stories at 60' initiative which shows each week in accessible content over the two academic years, the change made because of the university globally, nationally, and locally.