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June Brown and Kwame Kwei-Armah celebrate Humanities and Social Sciences graduates success

Friday 4 December 2009

Interview: June Brown
Duration: 2:58
Date: 04 December 09

Over 450 new graduates from the University of East London’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), were celebrating their academic success on Thursday 3rd December. Chancellor Lord Rix personally congratulated each graduate crossing the stage at the Barbican Hall in front of a packed audience of proud families, friends and fellow students.

The audience also watched as much-loved actress June Brown MBE received an honorary award of Master of Arts. Best known for her role as Dot Cotton in the long running TV drama Eastenders, June is an acclaimed actress who has stared in a variety of roles in TV, film and theatre spanning an incredible 50 years. She has won various “best actress” awards for her role of Dot and won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards in 2005. She was given an MBE in 2008 and more recently appeared in the west end for 4 months at the Noel Coward Theatre in a production of Calendar Girls.

June Brown MBE said “Thank you so much, I really don’t feel worthy of this award at all, however I was thrilled to get the invitation as it has always been a lifelong ambition to go to university, it just goes to show that it’s never too late and you should never give up. I congratulate all of you students and I wish that I was one of you.”

Also receiving an honorary award of Doctor of Letters is Kwame Kwei-Armah, a well known actor, singer, broadcaster and award winning playwright. As well as a long career on national TV, Kwame’s plays have met with resounding success in the West End and at the National Theatre. He has most recently turned his talents to presenting; fronting a number of channel 4 documentaries earlier this year. His most recent play “Seize the day” can be seen at the Tricycle Theatre.

Kwame gave an emotional speech citing his mother as his inspiration and role model “My Mother taught me a valuable lesson when I was young; that there is nothing in this world more important than education, this is a lesson I will pass down to my children and all I meet, my only wish she was here today to be able to call me doctor”, he went on to pay tribute to all the students, families and tutors and staff at UEL for their hard work and effort, he finished with “it’s a great time to be bright”.

The third award is presented to former UEL graduate Onyinye Oyedele, now a successful poet and writer, her highly praised book Precious a collection of poems was released last year (2008) and she is currently a writer of Mirror on life, a column on Nigeriaworld.com. Her articles and poems have appeared in newspapers and magazines in the UK, Canada, The US and Nigeria. Graduating from UEL in BSc (Hons) in Media and Communications Technologies in 2003, she was honoured with an award of Master of Arts.

Speaking about her time at UEL, Onyinye Oyedele said “My time at UEL was truly special, the diverse range of culture and ethnic backgrounds on campus, at times when I was homesick, made me feel like I was not alone. University is a place where dreams can be nurtured, pursued and achieved, thank you so much for this award, I am truly grateful and humbled.”

Professor Steven Trevillion, Dean of HSS and a leading expert in social work and community care said “I am immensely proud to stand before you today, there is a wealth of creative talent represented here and I’m sure that will be reflected in your future professions or studies and I wish you every success going forward”.

HSS spans a wide range of interdisciplinary programmes and research interests, drawing upon the humanities and social sciences, to create an academic and intellectual environment that focuses upon the creative, cultural and information technology industries, social policy, social work and the social sciences.

Its most popular programmes include Anthropology, Sociology, Social Work, International Development, Refugee Studies, Cultural Studies Creative Writing, Journalism, Media and Communications, Multimedia and IT, Music and Performing Arts.

 

BA (Hons) English Literature graduate Eleanor Wood, gave the vote of thanks speech on behalf of all the students, she said fondly “I have learnt so much beyond what is stated in the prospectus, I have had the chance to study with some of the most interesting and wonderful people I have ever met. People from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities, who have all taught me a great deal about life, something which I believe, could only be possible at UEL.”

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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