Dr Heather McGregor speaks at Roedean’s 2009 Speech Day
07/11/2009
Her speech centred around three pieces of advice, directed at the 2009 leavers and the SMH transfer girls in particular.
Arguing ‘There is no such sentence for any woman in the English Language as “I can’t do it”’, Dr McGregor started with a summary of her own achievements.
After Newcastle University, she obtained an MBA, had a baby and got a new job as a stockbroker, all before the age of 30. Having been put into her first job by headhunters Taylor Bennett, things came full circle when she bought the company in 2004. Now with three children, and a pilot’s licence, her priorities are ‘work, children, husband, friends and herself’.
She advised the girls, ‘Leave with this sentence tattooed on your head: “I can’t do it alone”. What is very important is to reach back and pull up the people behind you – and especially the people you were at school with’.
Dr McGregor ended by noting the value of a strong brand, like Roedean, on a CV and encouraging parents, pupils and alumni to work together to support the newly merged school. ‘This is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of something very special’, she said.
A fuller report of Speech Day will follow