Just before you go on your Easter break, which we’re assuming won’t really be a ‘break’, we thought you may like to know a few fun things about what to expect on your graduation day. Enjoy!
- Expect to reminisce
You’ll be seeing your university friends and tutors and it will be great to catch up about what you have been up to since student life stopped. Although it will have only been a few months, we’re sure you’ll have loads to update people on.
- Expect to be a little cold
Our graduation ceremonies are in November and yes, it’s cold. We advise you to wrap up warm even though the gown is pretty thick and can shelter you from the winter weather. We don’t have a cloakroom at the City Hall but most graduates find that their family and friends can keep their coats safe for them whilst they have their moment.
- Expect to be overwhelmed
It’s a big deal! You’ve come to the end of your university journey 
(unless you want to stay with us!) and it can be hard to accept that your student life is over. Just remember that life as a graduate can be just as exciting as a student – plus you probably don’t have to worry about exams now!
- Expect to have a selfie
It’s inevitable – people are going to want to be taking photographs of you in your gown. Be prepared to be in the spotlight of your friends and family for a couple of hours whilst at the City Hall and on stage!
- Expect to get some free stuff
There are always deals on around the city centre for graduates whether it’s a discount off food or a free glass of bubbly; have a Google and try to make the most of the freebies while you can. 
- Expect to shake some hands
We try to get our Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor along to most ceremonies and you will have the chance to shake one of their hands on the day. We also tend to have the Dean of the Faculty on stage too to say congratulations.
- Expect to have a fantastic, memorable day
For many of you, this is the only time that you will graduate from university. So, enjoy seeing your friends, tutors and enjoy being able to celebrate all the hard work that you have put in for your degree.
The Graduation Team
It’s International Women’s Day today, a day to “celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women”. As part of the celebration, we thought we’d share and celebrate the achievements of just 5 of the many inspirational women that have graduated from Sheffield Hallam in previous years.
Kate Allatt
BA (Honours) Business Studies, Class of 1993 & PgD in Marketing Practice, Class of 1998. Honorary Doctorate awarded in 2017.
Kate Allatt is an internationally acclaimed speaker, writer and advocate raising awareness of locked-in syndrome. At the age of 40, she suffered a major stroke and became a victim of locked-in syndrome. Against the odds she went on to make a remarkable recovery and now devotes her life to helping those with similar conditions, as a health coach and motivational speaker. She is an active champion for research into locked-in syndrome and is an inspirational figure in raising awareness of the syndrome on an international level. Kate also runs a charity, Fighting Strokes, which raises funds for stroke victims.
Source.
Jacqui Oatley MBE
PgD Broadcast Journalism, Class of 2003.
Jacqui Oatley is a British freelance sports broadcaster, presenting, commentating and reporting mostly on football for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. She is best known for being the first female commentator on BBC One’s Match of the Day. A keen footballer herself, it was a life-changing knee injury that encouraged her to take up a career on the sidelines. Retraining as a journalist, she built up invaluable experience with hospital radio, Radio Leeds and BBC London before eventually joining Five Live. It was the fan base that Jacqui built on the show that helped her to secure her MOTD debut in 2007.
Source.
Debjani Chatterjee MBE
PGCE Education from Sheffield Polytechnic, Class of 1981. Honorary Doctorate awarded in 2002.
Debjani Chatterjee is an award-winning poet, children’s writer and translator, who has been described as ‘Britain’s best-known Asian poet’ (Elisabetta Marino), ‘full of wit and charm’ (Andrew Motion) and ‘a voice of rare originality’ (David Morley). Her more than 60 books include Animal Antics and Monkey King’s Party for children, and I Was That Woman and Namaskar: new and selected poems for adults.
Source.
Jane Tomlinson CBE
PgC Paediatric Medical Imagine Practice, Class of 2002. Honorary Doctorate awarded in 2003.
Jane was just 36 when, in August 2000, she and her family received the devastating news she had incurable breast cancer. A mum of three, Jane was given just six months to live and she and her loved ones were told to prepare for the inevitable. But, thanks to Jane’s remarkable courage, something truly extraordinary was just about to begin. Over the next seven years, as she defied her diagnosis, Jane went on to achieve what many people might struggle to in a lifetime – surmounting increasingly difficult challenges, capturing the attention of people across the world, and raising over £1.85m for charity. She also founded what was to become her lasting legacy, the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, which would continue to support scores of causes long after her sad and untimely death.
Source.
Kal Atwal
BA International Business, Class of 1995. Honorary Doctorate awarded in 2011.
Kal joined BGL in 2002 and is currently Group Director with Board responsibility for LesFurets.com, Group Corporate Development and Strategic Execution, along with providing assurance and oversight for the Group’s portfolio of Brands and Communications. During her time with BGL Kal has held a number of positions, including Managing Director of comparethemarket.com. Under her leadership comparethemarket.com became the UK’s leading price comparison website.
Source.
We have many inspirational women passing through City Hall at our graduation ceremonies each and every year and we can’t wait to meet every single one of them in November.
The Graduation Team
In the spirit of Valentines Day, we thought we’d share the top 10 pictures we loved from graduation 2017 – hope you enjoy!
1 Set up day! We spend a lot of time thinking about how the hall will look on the day and it’s great seeing it all come together
2 A lot goes on behind the scenes for graduation – there are thousands of gowns to be sorted throughout the two weeks
3 We all know that getting the perfect selfie is a top priority on this special day
4 And while you’re taking that selfie, your friends and family will definitely want to join in the fun
5 You may not realise it, but lectures and other staff like to have help when getting for the ceremony too
6 It can be nerve-wracking to see your friends going up on stage, but you’ll love it when you’re up there
7 Don’t worry, we ensure all checks are done – we won’t read out anyone else’s name on stage
8 Before you know it, it’s your moment and your friends & family will be trying to take the best picture they can for you
9 Remember, this is a day to celebrate your achievement and we all know the hard work you have put in to get to this day
10 So enjoy it! It is a great day to enjoy with your loved ones and we know you’ll love it as much as we love seeing all of you.
The Graduation Team
We know…
It’s the boring task that gets put to the back of your endless ‘to do’ list in final year, but trust us, updating them now will save you a lot of hassle in the long run when making sure everything goes right for your graduation day.
We wouldn’t want you to miss out, so in case you need to know how, here’s a quick guide on updating your details:
First thing to do is log onto My Student Record using your student number (so with a ‘2’ instead of a ‘b’ or a ‘1’ instead of an ‘a’). Can’t log in? Try the Forgotten your password link, always worth a go before contacting IT.
Next – go onto ‘My Details’ and you’ll see a little table on the right hand side saying ‘Change of Personal Details’. Click onto ‘Home Address’ and then ‘Amend’. Have a look here and see if anything needs updating – if it does, update it. PS, you may not see your email address straight away, but it’ll pop up as soon as you click ‘amend’.
We need your personal email address to be as up to date as possible as you will lose access to your SHU one when you receive your results. We know you wouldn’t want to miss our lovely emails telling you about your graduation date, the deadline for booking your tickets/gown and how to make sure you have everything sorted before the big day.
Here, you can also edit your home address if you would like to. Once it gets closer to your graduation day, you can specify the address you’d like your tickets sending to, but don’t worry, tickets aren’t posted until a couple of weeks before your ceremony so you don’t need to worry about it yet & we’ll make sure to let you know how to edit this when you need to.
And that’s it! We’re done. Hopefully that didn’t take you more than a couple of minutes and now you’re as set as you can be for your graduation. Congratulations.
The Graduation Team
If you didn’t, take a look at our article here.
We’re trying to ensure that all 2018 graduates get as much information as they can before November without making you feel like this…
Don’t worry – we know you’re probably not really thinking about graduation at the moment and to be honest we don’t have too much to give away. But rest assured that as soon as we get any info you need to know about your day we’ll be posting it on the website and on here, so you can feel like this…
The Graduation Team
