Leeds Metropolitan University
Summer Graduation 2006
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Winter Graduation 2006 |
Sue Campbell
Sue Campbell, Chair of the Youth Sport Trust, will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Sport from Leeds Met during Summer Graduation 2006.
Helen Whitrod Brown, Associate Dean and Head of the School of Leisure and Sport Management, introduced Sue Campbell as someone who makes a difference as she is an inspiration both as a coach and a leader, and believes in service that goes beyond success.
On receiving her Honorary Doctorate Sue Campbell said, ““Chancellor, Vice- Chancellor, Governors, tutors, parents and most importantly today, graduates, thank you very much for this honour, it means a great deal to me.
“I think those who know the heritage and history of the name Carnegie, know that when I was asked to accept this, it didn’t take me long to say yes. It’s an immense privilege, and it is a privilege not just for me as a person, but for all those people who have worked around me over the years and made some the dreams we had about improving sport in this country, for young people and elite athletes possible, thank you very much indeed.
“I want to just mention and build on what’s been said about the 2012 Olympics Games. It would be easy to think of the 2012 Olympic Games as a major sporting festival happening six years from now in London, and indeed it will be, it will be the greatest show on earth; I have no doubt about it. But it is much more than that, it is an inspiration, it really is an opportunity to exercise and elevate so many people to achieve their best, because that’s what the Olympics represent. It will generate one of the greatest cultural festivals across the country, it will be an opportunity to be very creative around the built environment, it will connect in with all sorts of creative journalism and media work. It really is an opportunity for you as graduates, but it’s an immense opportunity for every child, every person in this country to use it as a catalyst to make this world that we live in a better place for everyone.
“And I really wanted to just try and harness a few things that I think have helped me be my best and that I hope, you as graduates, can take away with you in your own life. The first of those things is humility. I think when you get your degree you should take a huge time out to say well done to yourself and to recognise that is the end of a beginning and now you set off on a unique and special journey, that only you will determine, but one thing along that journey you will learn, that no matter who you come across, whether it’s a primary school child, an elite athlete, whether its the boss, whether its someone that works along side you, each and everyone of them will be able to teach you something and however important we think we are in our world, we’re never that important, we’re just part, part of a huge matrix of man and womankind that is working to try and make the world we live in a better place. So try and retain humility, it’s not about being humble, it’s about being graceful.
“The second thing I have carried with me is honour, a word I suppose in this day and age which people might call old fashioned. But I mean by that your own code, your own of living, what ever that is, whatever your choices in life, be brave and live strongly against that code, believe me, as you move on in life that code will get challenged, you may have very strong and passionate beliefs about the work you are doing, you may have very strong and passionate beliefs about interests you have around environment, and other key issues, that all of us face in the society we live in. Don’t be pushed off, don’t be derailed, go back to that code and even when everyone else says no, sometimes maybe yes is the answer. And I know for certain that I have gone by acknowledgement to a very simple code of honour, respect, trust, openness and integrity and I’ve hung onto that, and sometimes I have to tell you I’ve felt like I have been shipped overboard and I’m hanging on by my fingertips, but boy its worth hanging onto, because at the end of the day, what truly matters is the kind of human being you are, not what you do.
“The third thing - humour, don’t ever lose your perspective and sense of humour, one of the wonderful things about the places I’ve worked is that you can always hear laughter. Doesn’t always mean we are working as hard as we might, but we are having fun and I am sure you know as graduates, that at the times you are working most effectively, the times you have enjoyed the most and where you will remember and where your learning was at its best, remember to create that wherever you are. Life is serious, there are some very serious issues we face, but don’t forget to smile and don’t forget to be a centre of laughter and fun and lightness in the world.
“My fourth one – a slight extension of my ‘h’ theory – ‘have a go’, don’t be frightened to have a go. One of the things that I think holds so many people back is that we believe we have to do it as its always been done. How many times I hear children say ‘I cant’, well I think you can and I think that belief that you can comes from inside you, no one can give it to you, and no one can actually take it away. Have your dreams, have your goals. They may not be gold medals, they may not be winning the Chelsea Flower Show, but whatever those dreams and goals are, hang on to them and drive hard towards them and have a go, believe me, we haven’t begun to do some of the work we can do with out built environment, we haven’t begun to challenge some of the ways we can use culture to build those bridges and break down those barriers of the multi-cultural society we live in.
“And those of you going into the media, can you develop a positive approach to journalism where we really start telling some good stories? Where we really believe that people don’t want to hear what’s wrong. Go out there, challenge the status quo be brave, have a go, you’ll get knocked back of course you will, dust yourself off, get up and have another go, that’s what life is about, it is a great journey and it’s a unique journey to you and finally and probably the thing I’ve hung onto, probably stronger than anything else – hope.
“I don’t know what your beliefs are, but I do know that we are now living in a global world, what happens her today does impact on the world, what happens in other parts of the world does impact on us, it’s a global existence.
“The exciting part for me, in sport, is that it’s the only global language that everybody understands. It’s a way of reaching out, of building relationships and I believe that between us we have to have a strong belief, a strong hope that tomorrow’s world can be better than the one we are presently living in. A world where fairness and equity, understanding and acceptance are real for every human being, no matter where they come from, no matter what their ability, so as you go forward, put hope right at the top of that list and go out there today.”
“Life is a great journey and it’s a unique journey to you.
“Reach for the gold medal that is really yours.”
Sue Campbell trained as a physical education teacher, taught in Manchester and lectured at Leicester and Loughborough Universities. During this time, she represented her country as a player, coach and team manager in netball and athletics. She then took up a position with the East Midlands office of the Sports Council (now Sport England) before moving to the National Coaching Foundation (NCF). Following 11 years as the Chief Executive of the NCF, she became Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust, then Chair in February 2005.
Under her leadership the Trust has worked in partnership with physical education and sport to develop a linked series of ‘TOP’ programmes. These programmes give young people, from 18 months to 18 years and of all abilities from across the UK, a chance to make the most of opportunities that PE and sport can bring. They encourage all young people, including those with disabilities, teenage girls and gifted and talented athletes to thrive, as well as providing ongoing support to teachers and others working with young children.
In January 2000, Sue was seconded on a part-time basis to be the adviser to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on physical education and sport.
In March 2005 she was appointed as Chair for UK Sport, the organisation responsible for world class success in the UK.
Sue is a Member of the British Empire, and in March 1998 received the International Olympic Committee President’s Prize. In the Queens’ Birthday Honours in June 2003, Sue was awarded a Commander of the British Empire for her services to sport.
HONORARY AWARDS 2006
Saturday 22nd July
Friday 21st July
Thursday 20th July
Wednesday 19th July