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Top tips on how to make sure you enjoy your virtual graduation

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Graduation day is fast approaching, with the ceremonies being held next week from Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 April. We want to make sure it’s a special day for all of you and those celebrating with you. Here are our top tips on how to make sure you have an enjoyable virtual graduation ceremony. 

Before the day

  1. First thing’s first, check through your email invitation! Your graduation date, time and all other information that you need can be found here! Still have questions? Send us an email at graduation@bbk.ac.uk
  2. Send the team your pictures and stories of your time at Birkbeck – as we’re celebrating virtually this year, we can’t ask you in person about your experience at Birkbeck – so you’ll have to tell us in advance! We’d love to see how you spent your time at Birkbeck. Did you join us straight from school or later in life? Did you work, have caring commitments, or pursue an interesting pastime whilst studying with us? Whatever your Birkbeck story, we would love to hear from you and celebrate the amazing achievements of this year’s cohort!
  3. Gown – order from London’s oldest robe supplier, Ede & Ravenscroft!
    Although you won’t be surrounded by Harry Potter look-alikes this year, that doesn’t mean you can’t recreate the vibe at home! Why not, dress up for the ceremony and if you want to feel like a true graduate, order a gown for the day? You won’t be able to the legendary cap toss without it!
  4. Sort out photography – get a friend or family member to take a photo of you, or get in touch with Ede & Ravenscroft to arrange local photography, you’ll want to make full use of that cap and gown. 
  5. Celebrate with friends and family! Arrange a zoom call or meet in person if you’re able to, plan some nice food and a special drink. Your graduation is a time to reflect on all the amazing things you’ve achieved, with the people that love and care about you! Arrange something with friends and family to make a big deal out of the occasion – because qualifying with a degree is a pretty big deal. If you’re able to, you can have the people who live with you on screen with you during the ceremony.  We recommend having your favourite drink to hand at the ceremony to cheers to your success!

On the day

  1. The most important thing to do on the day is to make sure that everyone (friends, family, anyone who’ll be watching) has the livestream link! You can find this in your joining instructions or at https://www.bbk.ac.uk/student-services/bbk-graduation
  2. Punctuality is also key today – you don’t want to miss anything! Login 15 mins before your ceremony to make sure you’re there for the whole ceremony. Log in details can be found in your email from the graduation team. 
  3. Post some pictures! Once you’ve *officially* graduated and taken those all-important selfies, we’d love if you would share them with us on social media! Tag us and use the hashtag #bbkgrad so that we can celebrate with you all. We have Instagram stories filters to celebrate with, or tag us in your #bbkgrad images. Twitter: @BirkbeckUoL / Instagram: @birkbeckuol / Facebook: @BirkbeckUniversityofLondon
  4. Don’t stress, relax and enjoy the day 😊
    – You did it! Time to celebrate!

Further Information

“Without Birkbeck’s disability service, I wouldn’t have finished my degree”

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Ryan Wilson recently graduated with a First in BSc Economic and Social Policy, after overcoming a number of adversities, including leaving school with no qualifications and becoming seriously ill after a drug trial went wrong. Here is his #BBKgrad story.

Ryan Wilson

Ryan was born and raised in Islington and describes his background as “working class and economically deprived”. He came out of school with no GCSEs. In a bid to earn money, he took part in a drug trial in 2006 which went catastrophically wrong. Suffering multiple organ failures, as well as loosing parts of his fingers and toes, Ryan now faces his legs being amputated in the future. Ryan explains, “I felt at the time my whole life had been wiped away from me, and I’m still not over it and to be honest never fully will be. I had planned for years to become a plumber and could no longer pursue this career path due to my injuries.”

A few years later, in 2012, Ryan had a son. He describes this as a pivotal moment: “I just wanted to prove to my son that anyone can change their life circumstance if they try hard enough. I believe everyone has potential, just for a lot of people its untapped. I’d been wanting to study economics for a number of years but hadn’t had the confidence to and being a student was a different world to the one I knew. I started researching how to become an economist and saw I had to get GCSEs, A Levels and a degree. So, in 2012, I started studying for my GCSEs. I managed to obtain an A* in English and a B in Maths so I progressed onto study Economics A Level. I’d never studied so much in my life but my hard graft meant I achieved an A. I had the most amazing teacher, who encouraged me to apply to Birkbeck, saying that they’d consider my application.”

In 2016, Ryan started his part-time BSc Economic and Social Policy degree, alongside working as an independent prison monitor, ensuring the decency of prisons and humane treatment of prisoners. He explains: “I had textbooks glued to me throughout my degree and entered a wormhole of reading. I worked so hard and loved the lectures – my favourite modules were Economics and Public Policy, and Macroeconomic Theory and Policy. I struggled in my second year with studying for my degree and overcoming some personal hurdles, but the support I received from the disability team and the mental health service really increased my confidence and drive to succeed. Mark Pimm, the Disability Service Manager, gave me hope in a sea of uncertainty. He encouraged me not to quit and without him and his team, I wouldn’t have completed my degree.”

Ryan graduated in November, winning the prize for the best final year Economics and Social Policy student. Describing his future plans, he says, “I want to work in politics and next week I’ve got an interview for my dream job in the civil service, working for the Department of International Trade. I’m busy writing a book about my life journey and how policy impacts the lives of people. In the future, I want to get into motivational speaking because I want to help others and be a voice for the under-represented groups that I’m part of.”

Further Information

“Doing this degree has completely changed my expectations of what I can do in the future”

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Isabella Ghawi faced challenges during studying, including a brain tumour diagnosis, epilepsy and dyslexia. With the help of Birkbeck’s Disability Department and her steely determination, Isabella founded the Birkbeck Biological society and graduated in November with a BSc Biomedicine degree. Here is her #BBKgrad story.

Isabella Ghawi

What made you decide to study at Birkbeck?

I did a lot of research because I left school quite suddenly without A levels as I started to have epileptic seizures.  After a long time, I decided I wanted to go back to university and study to be a neurophysiologist after my experience of working in a hospital.

I was searching for a good access to university course and chose Birkbeck as it had the best one. Unlike all the other places I looked at, it taught actual science. I knew that I wouldn’t just come out with a piece of paper, but I’d actually come out with real knowledge. After undertaking the Higher Education Introductory Course I decided to continue at Birkbeck to study a BSc in Biomedicine.

Did you face any challenges during your time studying? How did you overcome them?

I had a huge challenge in my first year. I already had epilepsy from the age of 18 and I had dyslexia. On top of that in my first year of biomedicine, I was diagnosed with a most likely cancerous brain tumour which meant I had to have a serious operation.

I overcame it, with the help of my family, my church and the people around me, but also with the support of Birkbeck – I’m especially grateful for the help and support I received from Dick Rayne, Mark Pimm and Jackie Saunder and many others. It was a learning curve for all of us, as we implemented new changes that were best for me at the time. So, with the help of all those people, I was able to continue and not just able to continue, but to really excel and exceed my expectations despite many difficulties.

Did you receive any additional College support whilst at Birkbeck and if so, how did this help you?

Birkbeck staff were a huge driving force because they were very understanding and supportive. The lecturers and the administration staff really helped me to develop resilience within myself and I kept going because they were so supportive. I also received a lot of help from the disability team. I received extra training on my computer with programmes that helped me with my dyslexia. There were a lot of assistive technologies that I was given, as well as a support tutor who was great and again, a real emotional rock. I also received a note taker and had extra time in exams which was helpful. Unfortunately, in a couple of my exams I had seizures, which were quite distressing. As a result, towards the end of my studies my exams were split, and I did them in smaller chunks which was extremely helpful. By the time it got to the last year, we had figured out what worked best.

What do you hope to achieve in the future?

Doing this degree has completely changed my expectations of what I can do in the future. Before doing this degree, I didn’t think I would be able to do much, but it’s made me really open to new opportunities. I really hope to continue to work in research, which is something I’d never dreamed of. I had never really done any lab work before this degree, but by the end of three years I was leaving the lab sessions thinking that if I could go back to the lab every day for the rest of my life, I’d be a very happy person. So, I would really love to work in a scientific laboratory.

This degree has also made me think that maybe there could be other things out there that I would be good at that I haven’t experienced yet. Now I’m looking for a job, hopefully in research, to gain more experience and then perhaps go back and do a PhD when I have more experience in the field, because I feel I really need more hands-on experience.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of studying at Birkbeck?

I would say go for it and give it a try, you will surprise yourself with what you can achieve. If you have any doubts or problems, there is so much help and support out there. I would also strongly suggest being open about your difficulties from the beginning with the staff.  If you do have a busy life and lot to cope with, for example if you have children, work commitments, health problems or caring commitments, the opportunity of doing part-time is well worth taking.

Studying at Birkbeck is a truly great experience, I would strongly recommend others go for it and give it a try. I don’t think you’d regret it, I certainly haven’t.

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