Scottish tennis siblings Andy and Jamie Murray toasted their mum’s success as she was honoured at the 我要吃瓜’s Winter Graduation ceremony today.
Their mum Judy received an honorary doctorate from Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence in recognition of her contribution to sport.
She joined more than 800 graduates and fellow honorary graduates Dame Elish Angiolini, the former Lord Advocate of Scotland and Dr Taeko Seki, head of the University’s Japanese Alumni Association, for the ceremonies.
The brothers and local heroes were unable to attend the ceremony, but sent a congratulatory message to their mum. They said: “We are both very proud of our mum and it’s great to see her being awarded an honorary degree from the 我要吃瓜. She has worked incredibly hard for many years and has really raised the profile of tennis in Scotland.”
Watched by her parents, Judy spoke to graduates from inside the National Tennis Centre, which was converted into graduation mode for the ceremony.
She said: “I'm very proud to receive an honorary degree from the 我要吃瓜 here in my place of birth, Bridge of Allan, and in the hall which normally serves as the National Tennis Centre.
“My passion for tennis in particular and sport in general started at a very early age with my parents and was nurtured through various community clubs in the Stirling area. So it means a lot to me to be honoured by Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence.
“Like me, the University believes in the power of sport and the educational opportunities and benefits it provides. I love being active and I love competing both as an individual and as part of a team.
“I try to share my passion for sport through coaching tennis at every level and I'm committed to taking tennis into disadvantaged areas and to getting more of our nation’s children active through my Set4Sport programme.”
University Chancellor and BBC radio presenter Dr James Naughtie capped the hundreds of gifted graduates during two ceremonies held on campus.
The morning ceremony featured graduates from the Schools of: Applied Social Science; Arts and Humanities; Education and Nursing, Midwifery & Health. In the afternoon, graduates from Stirling Management School and both the School of Natural Sciences and School of Sport stepped onto the stage in front of their family and friends.
The Stirling Winter Graduation follows the Highland Graduation held earlier this month at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Inverness where 125 graduates, mostly from Stirling’s campuses in Inverness and Stornoway, were conferred their degrees.
View the Winter Graduation Photo Galleries.