HE NORMALLY leads the procession into Chester Cathedral, but this graduation day one university employee will be among those wearing his cap and gown with pride.
In his role as usher Rob Dawson, institutional compliance officer at the University of Chester, usually heads the formal proceedings and is the first person to lead the dignitaries and new graduates out of the cathedral at the close of the official ceremony.
However, today the 40-year-old will be sitting in the nave with his fellow graduands after successfully completing a masters in developing reflective practice in higher education administration.
Rob, from Connah’s Quay, combined study with working at the university though Work Based and Integrative Studies (WBIS), a programme tailored to provide academic recognition of learning undertaken primarily in the workplace.
He studied the programme for his personal and professional development and completed the MA in record time, taking little more than two years part time to finish his studies.
Rob said: “Undertaking the WBIS programme was extremely enjoyable and worthwhile, the flexibility of the programme not only allowed me to complete the studies at my own pace based upon my work and family commitments but also allowed me to design my own academic programme based upon my own areas of interest, experience and knowledge gained in my work”
Rob has a long relationship with the university, having studied for his first degree in history and education studies at the Chester campus.
He joined the institution as an employee in 1996 and has been working in legal service for the past five years where among his many responsibilities he specialises in handling Freedom of Information, Criminal Records Bureau and Data Protection issues.
He added: “I am looking forward to being on the other side of the graduation ceremony, at least this time I won’t have to suffer from the back stage jitters.”