Dr Rebecca Bennett
PROFESSOR KEITH MCLAY: Now we come to our Honorary Award. These are awarded by the University in recognition of somebody who has made a very significant contribution in their particular field. I therefore have great pleasure in inviting Dr Denise Baker, the Pro Vice Chancellor Dean of the College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, to give the commendation for the conferment of an Honorary Master of the University to Dr Rebecca Bennett.
Dr Baker.
DR DENISE BAKER: Vice-Chancellor, Pro Chancellor, Deputy Lieutenant, High Sheriff, Honoured guests, Graduands of 2025, and all our guests here today, it gives me great pleasure to be presenting Dr Rebecca Bennett for the award of Honorary Master of the University.
Rebecca is co-founder of Sisters in Service, a support network for female veterans of the UK Armed Forces currently working in healthcare. The network was established to help female veterans navigate the challenging transition into healthcare and thrive in often challenging circumstances.
Rebecca was born in Derby and studied at Derby High School before graduating from the University of Leeds in 2004 with a first class honours in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering with Management. She joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst the following year, graduating as top female Officer Cadet in 2006.
Moving on to a successful career in the military, Rebecca operated in demanding environments both at home and abroad as an Officer in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. She served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and prior to leaving the Army was Senior Captain of the First Royal Tank Regiment in Suffolk, advising the Commanding Officer of the only Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment in UK Defence.
After leaving the military in 2012, Rebecca began a Graduate Entry Medical Degree at the University of Nottingham. She completed her course in 2017 and, following her years as a Foundation Doctor, went on to work with both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trusts, gaining experience in a range of roles across inpatient wards and community settings as part of her Core Psychiatry Training. She is now a Higher Specialist Trainee in Forensic Psychiatry working at the East Midlands Centre for Forensic Mental Health in Leicester and His Majesty's Prison, Nottingham.
Throughout her medical career, Rebecca developed a special interest in supporting the psychological well-being of the Armed Forces community. She co-founded Sisters in Service in 2024, recognising that veterans in healthcare may be more vulnerable to burnout, re-traumatisation, and cumulative stress resulting from prior military service, combined with ongoing challenges of working in the UK healthcare system. Sisters in Service focuses on the often underrepresented needs of women veterans, providing support, advocacy, and mentorship to those choosing to leave the military and embark on a healthcare career.
Through the establishment of Sisters in Service, Rebecca has rapidly built partnerships with local, regional and national organisations, stakeholders, and volunteers to extend the reach and impact of services. She has led and continues to lead efforts to secure funding through grants, donations and events, supporting the sustainable growth of the organisation. She has a strong sense of civic responsibility and her work is very firmly rooted in Derbyshire.
Rebecca's support for the Armed Forces links with the University's own commitment to those in active service and veterans. Through the University's signing of the Armed Forces Covenant, and as a gold award holder in the Ministry of Defence's Employer Recognition Scheme, the University has worked with Rebecca and the Sisters in Service network, alongside NHS partners and colleagues, to encourage organisations within our region to showcase the high skillset that ex-Forces personnel can bring as employees.
Celebrating Rebecca's achievements with her today are her husband Stuart, daughter Eliza, son William and mum Margaret. Pro Chancellor, in recognition of her achievements in advocating for, supporting and empowering female veterans, we are delighted to award Dr Rebecca Bennett the Honorary Degree of Master of the University.
DR REBECCA BENNETT: Good morning. Vice-Chancellor, Pro Chancellor, Deputy Lieutenant, High Sheriff, Honoured guests, graduands of 2025, and of course, all our guests here today, I stand before you with deep gratitude, humility and if I'm honest, a sort of disbelief. Receiving this Honorary Master's Degree is something I never imagined. And to receive it here in Derby, my home, makes it even more special.
To tell the truth, when I was younger, I couldn't wait to leave Derby. Like many, the familiarity of home started to feel like a limitation. So, driven by a desire to make a difference and see the world, I joined the British Army. I saw more than I ever expected. Places I hadn't imagined. Situations I wouldn't have chosen. I learned discipline, teamwork and resilience. I learned the power of service, the value of loyalty, and the true cost of sacrifice. I witnessed the best and the worst of people - sometimes in the same day.
What I didn't expect when I left was how much being away would change the way I saw home. When you're close to something for so long, it's easy to stop seeing it clearly. But once I'd been away, once I'd stood in places where nothing felt familiar, I started to realise what I'd taken for granted. And I yearned for it.
Not long ago, I watched Black Sabbath's Back to the Beginning show a Villa Park. After a lifetime of global success, they returned to where it all began. Not because they had to, but because it meant something. There's power in going back to where it all started. Not as the same person, but someone shaped by everything that's happened in between. That's what this moment is for me. I'm not standing here today as the same person who left Derby years ago. Now, I'm not just proud to be from Derby, I'm proud to be part of it.
To the graduates here today, some of you might be itching to leave Derby just like I was, maybe you've already left your home town to come and study here and have no plans to go back. And that's okay. Go, explore, learn, fail a bit, get it wrong, that's part of the deal. But know that home isn't something you outgrow. If you're lucky, it's something you'll grow into.
Thank you to the University of Derby for this incredible honour. I accept it with deep appreciation, not just for myself, but for everyone who left home thinking they'd outgrown it, only to come back and realise it's been part of them all along.
Thank you.
Dr Rebecca Bennett's commendation video
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