Identical twins and 51-year-old among University of Suffolk graduates

Twins Megan and Molly Bailey, 21 from Sudbury, both graduated in Law with Criminology.

Megan, who is older by 15 minutes, said: "I feel that my experience at the University of Suffolk has overall made me more confident and I am very thankful for it.

Megan and Molly Bailey, the twins that graduated (Image: Gregg Brown/University of Suffolk)

"I really liked that the University of Suffolk was smaller than other Universities, as the lectures and seminars felt more personal."

Megan plans to train as a solicitor and has enrolled on the Solicitors Qualifying Exam.

Molly is now working at Ellisons Solicitors in Colchester. She said: "I am extremely proud that all my hard work has paid off, and I greatly appreciate all the help and support from my lecturers."

She also helped create the Legal Advice Centre at the University.

Also graduating this week was 51-year-old Pauline Lifton.

51-year-old Pauline Lifton, collected her post-graduate diploma in Human Resource Management (Image: Gregg Brown/University of Suffolk)

She collected her postgraduate diploma in Human Resource Management after leaving school at 16.

She said: "I had a mortgage at 17. Due to difficult circumstances during my childhood, I did not have the opportunity to attend college or university.

"Whilst I enjoyed all my modules, the highlight for me was my dissertation."

She hopes to be able to mentor students in the future – especially mature students – to allow her to share her journey with them.

Hannah Konnovs graduated as a master of business administration, but it was her 1-year-old son Maksim who became the centre of attention in his matching cap and gown.

Lizzie Mapplebeck, who played a pivotal role during the Covid pandemic alongside studying for her course, also graduated.

She worked full-time for the NHS during the pandemic for the NHS, managing health and social care workers getting their Covid vaccinations in Suffolk and north-east Essex.

Lizzie Mapplebeck worked at NHS and played a pivotal role during the Covid pandemic while also studying at the University (Image: Gregg Brown/University of Suffolk)

She said: "Knowing the changes I make to health services will make someone’s health journey better gets me out of bed each morning, so I look to stay within the NHS and would love to continue to progress in my current organisation."

Finally, Jessica Krishan celebrated graduating for the second time from the University of Suffolk. She collected a masters degree in business administration, after first completing an undergraduate degree in English.

Jessica Krishan who graduated for the second time from the University (Image: Gregg Brown/University of Suffolk)