Local MP and Christ the King alumnus congratulate students at 2015 Evening of Celebration
June is an important period of transition for Upper Sixth students at Christ the King College as they begin their preparations for the worlds of university and work. The Evening of Celebration provides out students with an opportunity to reflect on the friendships, the knowledge and the skills that they have developed whilst studying at the College. In addition to musical performances and inspirational speeches, the evening also features an awards ceremony which praises student achievement in both an academic and extra-curricular context.
The keynote speaker at the 2015 Evening of Celebration was Jason Ochere, an alumnus of Christ the King who now works as an analyst for Maitland, Europe’s leading financial and corporate communications consultancy. Mr Ochere offered his congratulations to the 2015 leavers on their dedication and hard work and reflected positively on his own experiences as a Christ the King student. After leaving the College, he enrolled on a Politics, Philosophy and Economics degree at the University of Manchester and worked assiduously in order to achieve his BA Hons qualification. Following his graduation from Manchester, he progressed to an MsC Masters degree in Comparative Social Policy at Oxford University, which enabled him to explore welfare systems and policy developments across a range of different countries.
During his keynote speech, Mr Ochere urged the students to be aspirational in their studies and to take pride in their community. “When I was at Oxford,” he explained, “I realised that I had something very unique to contribute to my seminars; I had a perspective on life that was different to my peers. You are also unique, and you have immense potential. You should be proud of your roots, proud of your life experiences, because they have made you who you are.”
Student council president Thomas Ardern-Mulhern also delivered an inspiring and thoughtful address to the audience, and wished his peers the best of luck in their future endeavours. The final speech was delivered by the Member of Parliament for Lewisham East, Heidi Alexander, who expressed her pride for the students and emphasised their value to the future of the borough. Ms Alexander encouraged the Upper Sixth leavers to be confident and ambitious in the future, and wished them the very best of luck for September 2015.
It was a great privilege to receive Mr Ochere and Ms Alexander as guest speakers at the celebration event, and the College would like to extend its sincere thanks to both for taking time out of their busy schedules to be a part of this special evening.
The College would also like to commend all of the 2015 leavers on their hard work and dedication, and looks forward to welcoming them back on results day in August 2015.