STEPHEN SMITH: And now we come to our Honorary award. These are awarded by the University in recognition of somebody who's made a very significant contribution in their particular field. I now have great pleasure in inviting Professor Keith McLay, Provost Learning and Teaching, to give the commendation for the conferment of an Honorary Master of the University to Tracy Harrison.
PROFESSOR KEITH MCLAY: Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor, Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff, The Mayor of High Peak, Honoured guests, Graduands of 2023 and all our guests here today, it gives me great pleasure to be presenting Tracy Harrison for the award of Honorary Master of the University.
Tracy has devoted her working life and personal life to the safety and well-being of others. She is currently Chief Executive Officer of Derbyshire charity Safe and Sound Group, which supports children, young people and families affected by child exploitation.
Tracy left home at the age of 17. She moved from Scunthorpe to Derby and, in 1987, achieved her dream of becoming a police officer. Her subsequent 32-year career in the police force included uniform and CID duties at all levels from Constable to Superintendent. Latterly, she was Force Strategic Lead for Children and Young People.
During her prestigious career, she was awarded five Chief Constable's Commendations for bravery, outstanding charitable work, commanding a significant investigation, and leading and coaching people. She was also awarded the Police long service and Good Conduct award, the National British Association of Women in Policing nomination for mentoring and the Queen's Jubilee and British Olympic medals.
Tracy cares passionately about people and, when she retired from the Force in 2019, she wanted the next chapter in her life to be working for a grassroots charity that supported children and young people.
Her drive and passion for improving services has transformed Safe and Sound from a charity that had fallen under the radar to an organization widely valued for its work in local communities in Derby and Derbyshire.
Her communication and networking skills have attracted funding from a far wider range of sources, and through the charity's Butterfly Appeal which won Fundraising Campaign of the Year in the East Midlands Charity Awards in 2020.
Tracy is particularly committed to giving a voice to young people and their families whose lives have been affected by exploitation. She works personally with children and parents alike to build their confidence and self-esteem, enabling them to engage proactively with professionals from politicians to senior police officers to improve future service provision.
Tracy leads on the charity's partnership with the University through the commission of research and evaluation and providing work placements and volunteering opportunities for students. She provides valued support and guidance on its safeguarding arrangements.
Tracy is celebrating here today with her husband, Richard, children, Katie and Jack, and friends Cole and Sharon.
Chancellor, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the safety and well-being of the local community, particularly of children and young people, we are delighted to award Tracy Harrison the Honorary Degree of Master of the University.
TRACY HARRISON: Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Pro-chancellor, Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff, The Mayor of High Peak, Honoured guests, Graduands of 2023 and all of you lovely guests here today, I am truly overwhelmed to be here and humbled to become an Honorary Master of the University of Derby.
It's the most significant day in my life and one that I couldn't have achieved without the support of my family and friends, my husband, Richard, and my children, Katie and Jack.
When I was growing up in the steel town of Scunthorpe, I had two loves, one was school and the other was sport and it was these that helped me through some challenging years at home. In fact I remember my first entrepreneurial venture when my older brother and sister paid me their pocket money to do their homework. Things got worse at home and it was with regret that I had to leave home and college when I was 17 years old but on reflection it was the start of a new life for me in Derby.
Building on the work ethic that part-time jobs delivering newspapers and milk had taught me, my first proper job in 1985 was working in a sports shop, it wasn't far from the University's main campus at Park Farm at Allestree in Derby. I would see students visit the shop and I was always envious of the opportunities that they had, it was not all bad however I was on a youth training scheme and I won the YTS of the Year that year.
As well as learning how to restring tennis rackets, I ran my first half marathon and I learned to play squash and with the support and encouragement of older colleagues at the shop, I successfully applied to join the Police Service which had been my dream job from when I was eight years old and did a project on it at school.
I started my career as a Police Constable and I did serve 32 years, latterly, as the Superintendent Leading Operational Policing in Derby City, South Derbyshire in Erewash and when I retired I wasn't ready, I wasn't quite ready, to put my feet up and I'm proud to be the CEO of Safe and Sound which is Derbyshire's leading charity supporting children, young people and families affected by child exploitation.
Not being able to finish my studies or go to university has always been at the root of my imposter syndrome. Over the years I've stood in many a meeting room feeling quite anxious about being asked about something I don't know, whether it's something in history or about a place, a geographic place somewhere I'd never heard of.
That's why this recognition means so much to me, and I know that references are crucial to university thesis or research so my reference is a particular quote that I use when talking to young people we support through challenging times in their life: The Fabulous Whoopi Goldberg tells the musical charges in Sister Act 2, 1994, "If you want to be somebody, if you want to go somewhere, you better wake up and pay attention."
Drawing on my life experiences my two key messages to you all are life does have challenges and hardships but they will make you stronger and each and every one of you can all achieve your dreams sometimes it just takes a little while, and secondly live by your values every day. I have three values, I care about people, I like to make a difference every day, and I'll do the right thing however difficult that sometimes can be. Receiving this recognition means the absolute world to me, thank you all so much and congratulations to each and every one of you for your achievements that have been celebrated here today.