Honorary graduates 2022
Plymouth Marjon University was founded 1840. During the years that have followed this small university has made a big impact, through changing lives, enabling students to gain qualifications and giving them skills and experiences which have a positive impact upon the wider community.
The University confers honorary degrees on nominated persons who are deemed to have made outstanding contributions to education, culture, society, business or public life. These awards celebrate those who are making a positive difference in the lives of others, both publicly and privately.
Honorary Graduate - Ceremony 1
Gareth is the founder and director of Iridescent Ideas CIC - a social enterprise business advice firm - and has been a champion of the social enterprise movement in Plymouth and the South West of the UK.
Gareth led Plymouth’s successful bid to become the UK’s first ‘Social Enterprise City’ in 2013. This initiative has seen over £10 million of investment in the city for social enterprises and has helped Plymouth become one of the UK's leading places for social enterprise development.
Gareth represents Plymouth on the national social enterprise places programme run by Social Enterprise UK. He has spoken at many national and international conferences about social enterprise ecosystem development including at the Social Enterprise World Forum and across Europe.
Gareth lectures regularly on social enterprise themes with universities and other educational institutions. He writes for national and local newspapers and media about social enterprise related topics.
Gareth was the elected chair of Plymouth Social Enterprise Network for seven years 2013-2020 and currently co-chairs Plymouth’s Inclusive Growth Group. He lives in Plymouth with partner Mel, two cricket and theatre loving daughters, several guitars and a retired greyhound.
Honorary Graduate - Ceremony 2
Don is passionate about people. Currently pursuing excellence in leadership development through his company Sampson Armand, Don wants to ensure he is a lifelong learner and can help people and organisations in a meaningful and valuable manner. As well as Sampson Armand, Don has a brand in the gaming sector, called GAS-The gaming athlete. He has a vision to create a role model brand that helps with aspects around physical and mental health, in a push to create a greater positive effect on society.
Don was born in Zimbabwe, where his family farmed, before moving over to South Africa where he went to Maritzburg College and studied at the university of Cape Town, where he got a Bachelor of Social Science in psychology and organisational psychology. Don is also recently retired from professional rugby, having played for teams such as the Stormers, Exeter Chiefs, England Saxons and England. On a personal note, Don has 4 kids, and currently has his mom and in laws living under the same roof, putting to practice on a daily basis many of the elements he teaches within Sampson Armand.
Honorary Graduate - Ceremony 3
Kate Smith is the Co-Founder and CEO of Memory Matters CIC, a social enterprise that provides support and services to people living with dementia and their carers in the South West of England.
Kate started her career as a general nurse, working in a variety of clinical settings. She then moved into the pharmaceutical industry, where she gained experience in business planning and strategy. In 2010, she co-founded Memory Matters after being frustrated by the lack of support available for people living with dementia in our communities.
Under Kate's leadership, Memory Matters has grown from a small grassroots organisation to a thriving social enterprise that provides a range of services, including:
- A social enterprise cafe in Plymouth's high street called Moments. This cafe is one of the first of its kind and is open to the public. It uses its profits to provide free dementia advice and support, provides a pay-it-forward scheme for those in need and runs many services in its hub for older people.
- Memory cafés
- Individual and group support using a talking therapy called Cognitive Stimulation Therapy across Cornwall and Plymouth
- Training and education across the UK
- Research and development support into issues that affected by dementia
Memory Matters is committed to providing person-centred care that is responsive to the needs of the individual. The organization's services are designed to help people living with dementia maintain their independence and quality of life.
Kate is a passionate advocate for people living with dementia and their carers. She is a regular speaker at conferences and events. She is also a member of the Plymouth Dementia Action Alliance, Plymouth Older Citizens Partnership and Healthy Ageing Programme Board.
In 2020, Kate was awarded the NatWest Women in Social Enterprise Social Entrepreneur of the Year, and many other awards including the Shortlisted Social Purpose Award for Great British Entrepreneur awards. She has also been listed on the Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise in the UK for three years running.
Kate is a role model for other social entrepreneurs. She is a powerful example of how passion, determination, and innovation can be used to make a difference in the world.
Honorary Graduate: Ceremony 4
Adrian Kemp came to Plymouth in 1976 to study Education at the then ‘College of St Mark and St John’. Whilst becoming a qualified teacher, he always saw his role as an informal Educator and did a number of Youth and Community work options and placements during his course.
He worked for both Devon County Council and Plymouth City Council over the next 28 years, as a Youth and Community work or Community Learning Manager. However his heart was always in the voluntary sector and he was instrumental in setting up a number of Charities and Voluntary organisations both in Plymouth and West Devon.
His passion was always enabling young people to achieve their aspiration, particularly in accessing the waters that surround the City. The development of Plymouth Youth Sailing Club offered affordable sailing experience to children all over Plymouth, accessing the ‘Blue Playing fields’ that surround us.
In 2005 he was awarded an MBE for his work with Children and Young People and a commitment to Youth Sailing at a National Level, where he had been a committee member for the National Schools Sailing Association for over 20 years.
He is currently Commodore of Plymouth Youth Sailing Club, which every year introduces hundreds of young people to the joy of sailing, whilst also promoting Plymouth as a venue for both National and International sailing events.
Honorary Graduate - Ceremony 5
Hugh is the Head of Production at Theatre Royal Plymouth (TRP). He has been the resident Production Manager at TRP for many years on all in-house theatre productions, co-productions, and Engagement & Learning projects on the 3 stages: Lyric, Drum and The Lab, and externally including London West End for productions such as Othello and Wind in the Willows. In 2020, Hugh undertook the enormous challenge of reopening the Theatre to the public following the Covid lockdowns. Hugh has played a key role in construction projects like areas of the TR2 rehearsal space and the Messenger sculpture, which Hugh supported with planning, delivery, and completion. Prior to his exciting career at TRP, Hugh has been a resident and Assistant Director on the London West End, in the USA, and for major productions around the UK.
Starting out in Plymouth, Hugh began his educational career at St Boniface College to complete his O and A Levels, before studying applied psychology at the University of Wales where he was Chairperson of the Student Hall Committee. Hugh went on to achieve a CTEFLA in the Newnham Language Centre, Cambridge.
Hugh has contributed to the Plymouth community in several ways, namely in his role as a governor at Plymouth High School for Girls and volunteering at the Stonehouse Community Fridge, which he continues to do today.