Thursday 23nd July – Morning Ceremony
School of Business Ceremony
School of Business
Brian stayed on in Liverpool and attended a second ceremony of Graduation, Thursday morning.
SPEECH BY DR BRIAN MAY
on occasion of the Liverpool John Moores University Graduation Ceremony
Thursday 23 July 2009 (morning ceremony)
at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
After the initial addresses, Brian was introduced by Professor Sanderson.
PROF FRANK SANDERSON: I call upon the Chancellor to address the assembly.
DR BRIAN MAY:
Thank you very much. I didn’t expect a round of applauds before I spoke. That’s wonderful.
It’s great to see a full house as well. There’s nothing like playing to a completely sold out audience.
This is a great day. I’m very very happy to be here with you. I should do this formally – Vice Chancellor, esteemed colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure for me to continue as Chancellor of this fine University, this unique University, and it gives me even more pleasure to be part of this celebration with you today.
Graduands. Graduands. Yes this is all about you, and so it should be after all the work you’ve put in, but also mothers of graduands, fathers of gradunds, spouses of graduands. potential spouses of granduands. Children of graduands, I see – this is your day too. A great day to celebrate.
Graduands – I stand in a sense the other side of the fence, but I know exactly what it’s like to be a student, and very recently too. It’s only last year that I collected my PhD from Imperial College, having gone back there as a very mature student, after an absence of 30 years and completing my Astrophysics research.
And I’m here to tell you that it reminded me very forcefully that it’s not very easy being a student and it’s not always pleasant. You have a lot of demands made on you and your constantly being judged by people really who take your control away, it’s a tough journey to be on, and I’ll tell you for myself there were quite a few times when I thought really, “I really, really don’t want to do this any more. I really want to give up at this point.” And I know, I would say most of you have been to those points as well, but what you did was gather yourself up, pull your courage together, get back on the horse, and the reason you’re all here today is because you did actually make it to the finish line. So I congratulate you from my heart.
You’ve heard ‘Dream, Plan, Achieve’. You haven’t got to this point in your careers without hearing that many times from this University. It’s a motto that I heartily endorse, and I’ve lived it in my own life I think. I think I was selected for this job partly because I have done, you know. I’ve had many dreams. Many varied dreams actually in Science, also in Music, recently in Stereo Photography, many things, and I’ve been fortunate to have made the right plans. I’ve been fortunate to achieve many things. I have many trophies on my wall, but what I would like to tell you, what I want to give you is to say that this is only a beginning and most of the days when you will carry this motto with you, which I hope you will, you’ll have had your dream. You have your plan and you won’t get have achieved your aim. It will be one of those days where you’re just working away at it and you’re solving problems. Some of them might be difficult problems. But I would say to you the real joy in life is to be found on those days when you’re on the journey. And my message to you is – enjoy the journey. Don’t look for some Nirvana at the end, where you will have achieved and everything will be fabulous, because it’s not gonna come. Every time you achieve something, it’s the doorway to something else.
So my message to you really is ‘Dream, Plan, Achieve and Enjoy’.
Enjoy every moment. Take the time to have a balanced life, to look around you, to look at the sky, to look at the trees, to enjoy the interaction with the people around you. All these things are precious. And in a sense to me, the journey is everything. I’m still on my journey and I will be until the day I die. I hope that you’ll enjoy every moment of your journeys.
I look forward to shaking every one of your hands, looking into your eyes and personally congratulating you.
Talk about ‘enjoy every moment’, THIS is a great moment to enjoy, and we’re a little different from other Universities. I’ve been to many graduation ceremonies where we’re instructed we shouldn’t really clap too much because we don’t have time. I gotta tell you, I have permission from the Board to tell you that we DO have time in Liverpool John Moores University and when your son or your daughter or your spouse or your steps up to the plate over here, please DO feel free to clap and cheer and do whatever you feel like. If you wanna get up and have to get up and dance and punch the air as well, I think we can accommodate that as well.
This is to be enjoyed. This is a proud moment which we’ll all remember for the rest of our lives.
And if I could just add one other thing, when it’s all done and you’ve thrown your hats in the air, Graduands, it’s a good moment to make contact again with your family and go up to them and give them a hug and say ‘Thanks Dad’, ‘Thanks Mum’, because I can tell you I am also a father of Graduands. I am a father of three children, one of whom has just got her First Class Honours from Imperial College in Biology – YES ! [punches air] – and
(applauds)
I know the pride that we feel as parents and I know that also families of students suffer. So if you have time give ‘em a little hug and say ‘Thanks very much’.
That’s it from me really.
My final message is – I salute you, all you Graduands, and God bless you in your future journeys in life.