Rugby World Cup winner and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Ben Cohen said he was “incredibly honoured” to be made a Doctor of Arts by De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
Ben was being honoured today for his work to create the Stand Up Foundation, which works worldwide to fight bullying and prejudice.
“It’s an honour, this really is,” he said. “It is a recognition of the work that the foundation does, even though we never set out for that. It’s fantastic.”
In his speech, honorand Ben had this advice for the Class of 2015: “Follow your dream. Anything is possible.”
He said the death of his own father, killed trying to stop an attack in his nightclub, had spurred him on in his bid to be a top rugby player. “The pain and anger over the loss of my father made me over achieve.
“I used that pain and anger to redefine myself. I was first in training and I was the last out of training.”
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Since its formation in 2011, the foundation has awarded more than 60 grants to groups in the UK and USA to promote diversity and inclusion in sports and tackle bullying.
“Sport should not discriminate,” he said. “Everyone deserves the right to go out and play.”
Rousing cheers greeted the former Saints player’s acceptance speech and rugby fans tweeted their congratulations.
Today saw scores of students from the Faculty of Technology and the Faculty of Business and Law graduate from Curve.
Sufian Osman, Mechanical Engineering graduate said: “I’ve had such a good time at DMU and made friends for life.”
Computing graduate Naran Mistry has already started work at Next Plc in Enderby, helping to develop its website. He said: “I can’t believe I have graduated and got a job. It’s been a good experience and now I’m putting what I’ve learned into practice.”
“It’s been well worth it,” added Carrie Foreman, an ICT graduate who is working for Amadeus Software in Oxfordshire. “DMU was great.”
Posted on Monday 13 July 2015