Zoe, who became an honorary doctor of the University in 2022, was proud to address students graduating from healthcare degrees including medicine, operating department practice and nutrition during a week-long celebration in July.
She highlighted the diversity she saw among them and praised Edge Hill for nurturing an ethos of equality and opportunity for all.
She acknowledged that not all prospective students begin university on a level playing field but encouraged the graduates to appreciate how, through their studies and experience at Edge Hill, they have now reached a new, more equitable “start line”.
“As you line up alongside your new counterparts it won’t be social inequalities that matter.
“What will matter is who has the most drive and determination, who has already learned how to overcome adversity, who knows they might have to work that little bit harder than others but they’re willing to do so, and who has the self-belief despite being told they can’t, to turn it into a can.
“These qualities are now your privilege, they give you an advantage.”
Dr Williams, also a Public Health England advisor and champion for healthy lifestyles, was interviewed by fellow honorary doctor Chris Kirkland, former professional footballer and mental health campaigner, during her visit.
She told Chris she was incredibly proud to have been invited to address Edge Hill’s first ever cohort of medicine students – a historic milestone for the University.
During the interview, she said.
“Medicine is not a career for a limited group of people from a privileged background. Our healthcare systems need, and are enriched by, people from diverse backgrounds in every way.
“Edge Hill opening its Medical School a few years ago and graduating its first doctors today is a really big step in supporting healthcare in that really important way.”
Addressing graduates again, she said:
“I see before me the very definition of progress, a diverse community, each and every single one of you with a unique voice, different experiences, different backgrounds, and this is exactly what enriches our healthcare workforce, it’s what it needs.
“Diversity enables us to relate to our patients, to have empathy and to have insight, qualities that make healthcare professionals not just good, but excellent.
“Don’t be afraid to use your voice Trust your gut, trust your instinct and trust your intuition. Use your voice for good.”
Find out more about the broad range of degrees available within Edge Hill University’s Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine.
August 21, 2025
