More than 170 students at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) are set to receive their awards virtually after the coronavirus pandemic saw their graduation ceremony cancelled.
Among the successful students is 21-year old Alexander Paterson from Kirriemuir, who is one of ten students graduating with a first-class honours degree this year.
Mr Paterson found the Environmental Resource Management course at SRUC by chance when he was discussing university study options with his career advisor.
He said: “I have always had a strong interest in environmental issues I had initially considered doing horticulture, but as the careers advisor flipped through the SRUC prospectus, I just happened to see the page for Countryside & Environmental Management.
“I read into it, and it seemed perfect for me, it was a very lucky and fateful coincidence.”
Mr Paterson said the small class sizes offered a “comfortable learning environment” although the course could be challenging.
“An important lesson I have learnt during the past four years is that any problem can be overcome, and it is one’s own reaction to that problem which makes it seem difficult.”
“Whenever I felt overwhelmed, I would take a break, do some exercise, play my guitar or draw some pictures to take my mind off things.
“This allowed me to approach the problem from a different perspective and with a calm head,” he added.
The graduands were due to be awarded their degree and postgraduate awards at a ceremony at the University of Glasgow’s Bute Hall, but chose to graduate in absentia, although an celebration event will take place next summer if circumstances allow.
In a message to the graduands, principal and chief executive of SRUC, Wayne Powell, said: “While this may not have been how you saw your studies coming to an end, it is certainly an historic time to be graduating – and one which you will remember for the rest of your lives.
“It is a testament to your hard work that you have managed to complete your studies despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are very proud of the way you have adapted and I’m certain that the skills we have all learned during this crisis will serve us well in the future.
“Indeed, learning to think about uncertainty and adapt to it is one of the most important skills you can acquire.”
Bachelor of Arts in Rural Business Management
First Class Honours: Ross MacKinnon.
Second Class Honours – Upper Division: Lynnette McGregor Fisher; Sally Jeanette Glennie; Hannah Louise Gordon; Rupert Grainger; Katie Louise Insch; Becky Grace Little; Rebecca Louise McNaughton; Angela Millar; Elisha Edgar Rutherford; Ailsa Margaret Taylor; Iain Donald Robert Wallace.
Second Class Honours – Lower Division: Samantha Bown; Morgan Hastie; Andrew Lumgair.
Pass with Distinction: Catriona Ann Davidson.
Pass with Merit: Linda Catherine O’Hara; Rachael Elizabeth Louise Wood.
Pass: Craig Ian Ross; Adam Richard Bell Venman.
Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Bioscience
First Class Honours: Charlotte Louise Cooper.
Second Class Honours – Upper Division: Katie Mary Brown; Rachel O’Connor.
Pass with Distinction: Laura Cochrane; Ryan Robert Montgomery.
Pass with Merit: Iain Alexander Campbell.
Pass: Natalie Elizabeth McMichael.
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture
First Class Honours: Andrew Derek Robinson; Holly Elizabeth Wilson.
Second Class Honours – Upper Division: Jack Timothy Adkin; Alasdair James Allan; Jack Cooper; Anna Isabella Trotter Duncan; Callum John Grant; Conor Logue; Keira Karen Sannachan; Kaleemuddin Shaikh; Craig Ingram Stout.
Second Class Honours – Lower Division: Emma Donaghey; Paul Alan Duguid; Stuart Limond; Darren McCann.
Pass with Distinction: Fraser Morison Smith.
Pass with Merit: Kelly Anne Aitchison; Thomas John Fairbairn; Grigor Fraser Forbes; James Forsyth McMiken; Ben Harvey Nicholson; Bruce Ian Pattullo; Adam Thomas Stewart.
Bachelor of Science in Applied Animal Science
First Class Honours: Johanne Sophie Boye Straube.
Second Class Honours – Upper Division: Emily Christine Adie, Kirstie Anne Andrews; Jessica Baganz; Jade Mary Duncan, Ellen Sarah Gateley; Heather McClure, Caroline Smith; Zia Louise Vest.
Second Class Honours – Lower Division: Indyah Jay Heard; Rachel Elizabeth Mary Morris; Holly Olivia Mulligan; Freja Stewart; Emily Kayleigh Strachan.
Pass with Distinction: Jennifer Ann MacDonell.
Bachelor of Science in Countryside Management
First Class Honours: Gus Bain Mitchell Routledge.
Second Class Honours – Upper Division: Anya Norrie; Ellen Louise Oakley; Christopher Greg David Walker.
Second Class Honours – Lower Division: Rhae Dorothy Grace Lobban.
Pass with Distinction: Paloma Del Carmen Espindola.
Pass with Merit: Allan Duncan MacAskill.
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resource Management
First Class Honours: Nim Kibbler; Alexander Neil Paterson.
Second Class Honours – Upper Division: Hannah Carson; Aidan Christopher Cashin; Manuel Caucci; Euan Douglas Connell; Lisa Dettmer; Alexander George Dixon; Katie Helen Goodfellow; Lucy Catherine-Aidan Hutton; Amber Lane Jardine; Hamish Lewis; Clare Murray; Oliver Jolyon David Onslow; Hamish Frank Robertson; Dante Joseph Sosa; Caroline Elizabeth Mariette Vincent.
Second Class Honours – Lower Division: Liam Keir Grant; Nathan James Keyes; Michael Andrew Kidd; Rory Douglas Wood; Jesus Salvador Zapata Vera.
Pass: Lawrie James English-Smith.
Bachelor of Science in Garden and Greenspace Design
Pass with Distinction: Ignace Del Moral.
Bachelor of Science in Horticulture
Second Class Honours – Upper Division: Franziska Goeckeritz; Ruairi Nicol Peden; Jed Thomson-Cramer; Elizabeth Ann Weir.
Bachelor of Science in Horticulture with Plantsmanship
First Class Honours: Liam Morton.
Second Class Honours – Upper Division: Thomas Ian McFadyen, Gideon Allen Taylor, Jonathan Mark Wilson.
Pass with Distinction: Nicholas Peter Craven
Pass with Merit: Andrew Melvin Hinson
Bachelor of Science in Renewables and Environmental Technology
First Class Honours: Ann Morag West.
Second Class Honours – Upper Division: Kenneth William James Boyd; Ahren Brown; Sophie Crawford; Sarah Farrell; Anne-Mari Gillespie; Justin Given; Declan Service.
Pass with Distinction: Calum Ramage.
Master of Science in Agricultural Professional Practice
Pass with Merit: Joanna Louise Foubister; George Alexander Peart; Maimie Alison Sloan.
Pass: Mellanie Jane Robson.
