Gary Dorrian has overcome a number of personal challenges in recent years.
But he has not let anything hold him back from succeeding in his studies at Aberdeen University.
Today, he graduated with a degree in chemistry – a moment he has been looking forward to for a long time.
He said: “My first two years of university went quite normally, but in my third year I began to struggle both in my personal life and at home.
“I was diagnosed with depression halfway into the year and began to spiral quite a bit, which led me to becoming addicted to alcohol.
“At the same time I became injured while training for a powerlifting competition and was prescribed strong pain medication which I also became reliant on.”
‘You can turn things around’
After his dad died, Mr Dorrian, from Northfield, considered dropping out of university – getting as far as filling out the forms – but he ultimately decided to stay.
As he celebrates his graduation, he also wants to take the opportunity to highlight the importance of discussing mental health.
“I think that I am one of a lot of men that suffered and still deal with mental health issues and had to fight quite hard to receive any help,” he said.
“Also, being diagnosed so late in my life with ADD made it even more difficult for me and I ended up dealing with a lot of imposter syndrome because of this.
“But I think what I’ve been through shows that even when these things happen so late in life you can still turn things around and improve despite how hard it can be.”
‘I’m a chemist now’
His highlight from his time at university was taking part in Erasmus which allowed him to study in Frankfurt.
“It wrapped up everything I wanted university to be, it was life-changing,” he said. “And it got rid of that imposter syndrome way of thinking. I did one semester and was like ‘ok, I’m a chemist now’.”
Mr Dorrian has also found great joy in the extra curricular activities he has thrown himself into during his time at Aberdeen.
He is preparing to compete in his first bodybuilding competition next year, and has also been involved in powerlifting, cheerleading and aerial skills.
In the future, the graduand hopes to work in the oil and gas sector in his hometown of Aberdeen before potentially making the move to Germany.
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