“Hull gave me a home when I didn’t have a home. I came out of foster care and had nowhere to go in the holidays, but I had a community here. So, it feels like your mum’s proud of you, that’s what this feels like.”

Jaz Ampaw-Farr, BA Teaching Studies and Drama, 1994, and Honorary Doctor of Letters, 2025

Congratulations Class of 2025 and welcome to our Hull Alumni community.

We thoroughly enjoyed this summer’s graduation ceremonies. Celebrating the success of our students as they go from being students to graduands to alumni is always one of the highlights of the year, and this summer was a busy one, with even more to celebrate than usual. As the whole University of Hull community came together over four days to cheer on our newest alumni, we were also joined by the inspirational figures of our Honorary Graduates and our new Alumni Laureates.

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We were blessed with the chance to hear from three great Honorary Graduates:

Dean Windass – Hull City legend and community champion

A name etched into Hull City’s history books, Dean Windass secured the club’s historic promotion to the Premier League with his unforgettable winning goal at Wembley in 2008. Across a two-decade career and 700 professional appearances, Windass became known not just for his performance on the pitch but for his courage off it, speaking publicly about mental health and supporting campaigns around dementia in football. His story is one of resilience, loyalty, and enduring community pride.

Jaz Ampaw-Farr – University of Hull Alumna, Positive Disruptor and Global Motivational Speaker

A self-styled ‘positive disruptor,’ Jaz Ampaw-Farr is a globally renowned motivational speaker whose life story has inspired audiences worldwide. Raised in challenging circumstances, she took on parenting responsibilities for her younger siblings from the age of 11. Today, she empowers others to reframe their own stories, transform limiting beliefs, and lead meaningful change at work and in life. Her trailblazing work in education, leadership and human potential has led her to the TEDx stage and into boardrooms, schools and global conferences.

Alan Raw – Broadcaster and Eco-Futurist

With a career spanning broadcasting, sustainability, and social enterprise, Alan Raw uses creativity as a tool for climate awareness and cultural engagement. A long-time BBC presenter and documentary maker, he has helped deliver major public events including Radio 1’s Big Weekend and Children in Need. As a self-described “eco-futurist,” he champions hopeful, sustainable futures through his storytelling, his company Pan Galactic, and the Creative & Cultural Organisation, a community-focused initiative addressing climate resilience through the arts.

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Meet the new Alumni Laureates

In addition, we’ve relaunched the Alumni Laureate award as a way of recognising alumni who have achieved great things in the early part of their career since graduating. We celebrated our first cohort of five at this year’s ceremonies:

Daniel Swift MBE, MA Theatre Making, 2019, Chief Executive and Artistic Director at Concrete Youth

Since completing his Master’s at the University of Hull, Daniel has led groundbreaking work in accessible theatre. As Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Concrete Youth, he produced the UK’s first West End production specifically for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities. He was recently awarded an MBE for his services to the arts and to people with disabilities.

Laura Su, BA Management and Business, 2014, Business Development Manager at Eco Clarity

Laura leads national efforts to recover fats, oils and grease (FOG) waste and turn it into renewable resources. After graduating she built a career in environmental innovation, becoming known for uniting stakeholders around sustainability goals and advancing the UK’s FOG sector. Laura is placing Hull at the forefront of circular economy innovation.

Heather T Lacey, BA English, 2015, MRes English, 2016, Marketing and Business Development Manager, Eversheds

Heather is a multi-award-winning disability rights advocate, writer, and speaker. Heather has a successful career in marketing and business development and serves as co-chair of her firm’s disability employee resource group and chair of pro-Manchester’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion sub-committee on disability, neurodiversity, and mental health. Her impact has earned her multiple accolades on both the UK’s ‘Disability Power 100’ list and the Northern Power Women’s ‘Future List’.

James Deighton, BSc Sports Coaching and Performance, 2014, MSc Sports Science, 2018, Performance Analyst at Hull KR

James now works as the Performance Analyst for the First Team at Hull KR. A key part of his role is the game planning of the opposition, and he’s played a vital part in the on-field turnaround and success of the club. James has helped The Robins reach three major finals in three years and win the 2025 Challenge Cup – the club’s first trophy in 40 years.

Usman Ali, BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics, 2014, Managing Partner, Auctor

Usman is helping to build and support companies at the forefront of emerging technologies. He’s currently a Managing Partner at Auctor, who own and operate assets that offer opportunities to transform legacy industries through technology, including robotics and AI. He is also a Trustee of Lumos, an international children’s charity.

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Recognising the contribution of our Education graduates

These ceremonies also stood out for the award of Honorary Bachelor of Education Degrees to over 70 alumni who studied for a Certificate of Education in the 1980s and earlier. Though they studied for three years, nationally their studies were not recognised at Degree level until later. We wanted to address this, and invited them to come back and get an Honorary Degree in recognition of their achievements, their contributions to teaching over the years, and to celebrate our long and proud history of Education at the University of Hull.

You can find out more about this initiative here >>

We wish the Class of 2025 all the best, and hope we will see you on campus or at an event soon!