Graduation 2025: That’s A Wrap

UCJ Graduation 2025

The University College Jersey Graduation 2025 was a huge success, celebrating the achievements of more than 60 students in a day filled with sunshine, pride, and plenty of smiles! 

For the first time, this year’s ceremony was held at the Freedom Centre in St Helier where graduates were recognised from a wide range of degree and diploma programmes – including UCJ’s Childhood Studies, Psychology & Criminology, Social Science, Digital Technologies, Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Sport & Exercise Science and Social Work programmes, plus Highlands Professional’s and Education & Training and CMI programmes.

This year marked a special milestone with UCJ’s first-ever Student Orator, Summer Jones, a Construction Management graduate who delivered an inspiring address about balancing work, study, and family life while achieving a First-Class Honours degree. Read her speech below – it was relatable, powerful and very inspiring!

Following the ceremony, graduates paraded through the streets of St Helier to the Royal Yacht Hotel, cheered on by family, friends, and members of the public. The traditional cap toss in Liberation Square provided a perfect photo moment under the autumn sun, before guests enjoyed a celebratory reception at The Drift.

Principal Jo Terry-Marchant congratulated all graduates for their perseverance, creativity, and independence, thanking staff and families for their ongoing support.

We are also grateful to MasonBreese, our proud event sponsor, for their continued partnership in supporting local talent and lifelong learning.

📸 See the highlights and photo gallery: Graduation Day Photos

Please use our photos to share on your LinkedIn – and don’t forget to tag us! Highlands College, Jersey

Share your feedback on the day – we’d love to hear what you think! Share your thoughts & feedback on graduation

Summer Jones’ Speech – Student Orator 2025

Good afternoon everyone,

I stand here today incredibly proud and grateful to be graduating with all of you.

I’d like to take a moment to remember what we’ve achieved together during our time at Highlands. we did it, and today we stand here side by side, ready to celebrate.

Studying Construction Management over the past four years has been a real journey. I have learnt about construction drawings, the sustainable environments, and even the necessary laws if you ever find a snail in your ginger beer.

I want to thank Highlands for giving me and so many others the opportunity to complete a degree without leaving the comfort of our wonderful island. For me personally, studying off-island simply wouldn’t have been an option.

To our tutors and lecturers — thank you for your patience, encouragement, and endless pep talks. I can only imagine how many times you took a sip of coffee, looked at our assignments, and thought, “What am I doing?” But without you, we truly wouldn’t be here.

I know my entire class has been one entire support system, we really made sure each of us passed. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to be celebrating with. Highlands truly is an asset to Jersey. It creates opportunities that ripple out into our entire community, giving each of us the chance to keep learning, growing, and developing new skills at every stage of life.

I would like to share a little of my background, when I first completed my A levels I had dreams and goals of studying either fashion or financial studies at university. I have always enjoyed school; enjoyed learning but Fast forward not much time my life very changed course, my priorities shifted to raising my family. Balancing working full time, studying and raising children hasn’t been easy and some deadlines and reports felt much harder than others but it was all worth it.

A little over 6 years ago, I found myself starting a new career at JMEC.

I’ll be forever grateful to JMEC for showing me that the construction industry is the perfect place for a young woman to start a career. Thank you to everyone at JMEC for your guidance and support as I’ve studied alongside working especially my girls who keep me sane.

Studying this degree has allowed me to progress within JMEC and have the knowledge and experience to confidently manage contracts and manage teams. Working on a variety of projects with different clients has taught me so much and allowed me to put my learning into practice.

I want to say thank you to my loved ones, Without your love and patience, this milestone simply wouldn’t have been possible. And My beautiful children who give me all the reasons to better myself everyday.

Among us are graduates have had to prioritise their studies  all whilst raising families working full-time and even running businesses.

Some have planned weddings, welcomed new babies, or bought houses whilst completing assignments, taking exams and giving speeches.

Let’s not even mention the C word, which had people remote learning! Others have faced the devastating reality of company closures — shocks that affected the whole island — yet still managed to keep going and Harvard reference each time.

These stories are proof of the resilience and determination in this graduating class. Life didn’t pause for us, but we didn’t stop either.

Without this degree, or the connections I’ve made through Highlands, I wouldn’t be able to offer site visits to new students  or arrange work placements for Trident students. It’s a reminder that education doesn’t stop with us — it keeps building opportunities for others too. I also want to acknowledge the inspiring and empowering women I’ve met along the way — within Highlands, at JMEC, and across the construction industry. You show every young girl that we can succeed anywhere — whether in the boardroom, on site, or in the classroom.

To my fellow graduates may we keep building. Not just our careers, but our confidence, our communities, our futures, and our dreams.

And, as Barbie said: “You can be anything.” Today proves that we really can.

Congratulations everyone — we built this moment together.

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