Kingston University has honoured two former students, an ex-lecturer and five other notables in the sciences and humanities as part of its July graduation ceremonies.

Among the group is Jenny Body OBE, an aerospace engineering professional who became the first female president of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

The institution praised her commitment to promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics development in schools and diversity in the industry.

She told students on Tuesday: “Say yes to everything. It may become your dream job. You are good enough. You can do it.”

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Graduation: Kingston students at a ceremony on Thursday. Inset: Colin Squire

Another recipient is abstract artist John Carter RA who studied at the Kingston School of Art and later taught at the British School of Rome.

He has exhibited his work 64 times and has been included in more than 200 group exhibitions. He is being given the honourary award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to fine art by the faculty of art, design and architecture at the university.

Former student and pharmacist Peter Gough was also recognised by the science faculty for being instrumental in drafting the industry guidelines and advice in pharmaceutical quality management, along with Ashok Soni OBE, a qualified pharmacist who became the pharmacist professional executive committee member for Lambeth Primary Care Trust in 2002.

British choreographer Richard Alston CBE, the artistic director at The Place centre for contemporary dance, was another recipient, along with Professor Peter Saville, a chartered psychologist who developed various psychometric tests and was a visiting professor at Kingston University.

Jonathan Williams, deputy director at the British Museum, was honoured for his outstanding contribution to curation and museum studies.

The graduations closed with an honour going to Twickenham-born businessman and former student Colin Squire, chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres.

The south London and Surrey centres were founded in 1936 by Mr Squire’s father as a nursery and landscaping business, with 15 centres now operating in the area.

His award reflects his contribution to horticulture and the time he devotes to local organisations and charitable projects.