I officially graduated from the University of Sheffield as a Software Engineer on the 16th of July last year. Shortly after that, I wrote about all of the dedication, resilience and hard work that stand behind this achievement. Due to Covid, the in-person celebration was postponed for a year.

Back then, I did not know where I would be in a year. Furthermore, I was not sure how many students will attend and how much sense the event will make after all this time.

By coincidence, I am back in the UK (you can read about how my life has developed after graduation here) and just an hour-long train ride from University. I thought I should attend the event. Not only because I graduated with the highest distinction and wanted to collect my award, but also because I have respect for the institution and the lecturers.

The event was also a perfect reason to go back, meet with fellow students, have a quick chat with the teaching personnel and, in general, remember and honour my time spent there.

In the past year, I have not done a retrospection on my time at university. I feel like I have already written quite a lot about it and not much has changed in the past 12 months. Despite all the hurdles, especially in the final year, I have done as much as I can and have taken the most I could have from being a student (academically). Whatever the benefits and losses, I have spent four years of my life there.

This graduation ceremony and me taking up a new job is the perfect time to move on to the next stage in my life and leave my university years behind. While there are many memories made and lessons learnt, there is still so much more learning and development to do!

I want to thank the University of Sheffield staff for organizing the ceremony, as well as the team of the Department of Computer Science for the reception organized afterwards!