Passing with extra degree of difficulty
Inspirational Dianne Theakstone is used to her guide dog Merlin leading the way but she is a trailblazer in her own right.
The 35-year-old, who lost her sight aged 5 through retinal cancer, was presented with her PhD in applied social science at last week’s graduation ceremonies at Stirling University.
The former Edinburgh Royal Blind School pupil is also a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award holder.
She arrived at the university in 2005 and has spent the last 13 years there, completing an MSc in housing studies, an MSc in applied social research and most recently her PhD.
“My attraction for studying at Stirling was that it had a reputation for having one of the best support networks for visually impaired students,” said Dianne, who is originally from Edinburgh but now lives in Stirling.
“There is also a fantastic specialist support unit to access print materials.”
Dianne, 35, is interested in research investigating aspects of disablement. She has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.
She also undertook a comparative study of independent living for disabled people in Scotland and Norway and spent nine months on an internship with the Welsh Government.
Dianne has faced several challenges around accessing written materials and editing large documents.
She said: “I really valued the willingness of teaching staff to think out of the box when I had to present my assignments in an alternative form, such as verbal rather than written.”
Dianne is now a research assistant at the university.
More than 1500 graduates and two honorary graduates celebrated their achievements at the university’s winter graduation ceremonies. Professor Malcolm MacLeod, senior deputy principal, conferred degrees at two ceremonies.
Honorary degrees were given to David Strang, a former police chief who also served as a prisons chief inspector, and environmentalist Martin Valenti.
For full coverage of the graduations and a list of Stirling area graduates see Friday’s edition of the Observer.