It is not an obvious transition from music to geology, but that is exactly what one Aberdeen graduate has achieved within the last decade.
Ten years on from receiving a masters in music from Glasgow University, Zoe McKellar has graduated from Aberdeen University with a first class honours in geology and petroleum geology.
And the learning is not over for her.
At her graduation ceremony yesterday, Ms McKellar, 33, revealed: “I have got a fully-funded studentship to do a PHD here. They don’t want rid of me yet.”
She will continue to balance her studies with her on-going work at Capita Health Solutions, on Foresterhill Road, while music remains a hobby for what little spare time she has.
Summing up her mood at having competed her second degree to such a high standard, Ms McKellar, of Bucksburn, said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to finish and get the certificate.”
She decided to start studying geology in 2010, and in the initial days of her degree was juggling up to 30 hours of work a week with her university commitments.
Ms McKellar added: “I received scholarships in my third and fourth years and these helped enormously and allowed me to focus on my studies and to become more involved in extra-curricular activities which have really broadened the student experience.”
During her time at Aberdeen University, Ms McKellar was a member of the Geology Society, a class representative and volunteer for the Student’s Association and has served as the school convener for geoscience and vice-president for education.
She also wrote for the AU Science magazine, which earned her recognition through Scientific American’s Open Lab, which acknowledges the best online science writing.
