A new Lancaster graduate is following in his mum’s footsteps, crossing the same stage to receive his degree almost 40 years later.

Jonathan Dodd this week graduated with an upper second class honours degree (2:1) in Economics, Politics and International Relations, which also made him the fourth member of his family to graduate from LU.

In 1987, his mum Gillian graduated from St Martin’s College – now the University of Cumbria – which at the time had its degrees validated by Lancaster University, and its ceremonies held in the Great Hall.

Jonathan’s first experience of Lancaster happened when he was a young boy, taken on a visit by his parents to show him the city where his mum used to live. He said: “At the time, it was just another day out through the eyes of a child. But looking back now, I realise it was much more than that, it was my first glimpse into a place that had shaped someone I love, never imagining that years later it would go on to shape me too.”

Jonathan’s cousin Connor and partner Paige also graduated from Lancaster in 2023 and 2022, and Jonathan came to campus to celebrate Connor’s graduation. He said: “Little did I know I was also attending my own induction ceremony, because just three months later I was back, not as a guest, but as a Lancaster student, ready to make plenty of memories of my own.”

After coincidentally living in the same campus accommodation as his cousin in Lonsdale College, Jonathan has reflected on his “full-circle” experiences.

He said: “Over the past three years, Lancaster has become so much more than a university to me. It has been the backdrop to lifelong friendships, late-nights walking home from Sugar, stressful exam seasons, countless laughs, and the moments that quietly change who you are without you even noticing. The places my mum once pointed out to me as memories of her own have slowly become filled with mine too.

“Now, as I leave Lancaster, I realise I'm taking away much more than a degree. I'm taking a lifetime of stories, friendships I'll always treasure, and a connection to this city that spans generations of my family.

“Somewhere in a family photo album, there's a picture of a young boy visiting Lancaster without a clue what it would one day mean to him. Now, almost a decade later, I leave not only as a visitor, but as a Lancaster graduate, proud to be the fourth chapter in a family story that began long before I arrived and, hopefully, won't end with me.”