缅北禁地

Graduation 2025: Meet our Alumni speakers

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Leaders in food production and estate management were welcomed as alumni guest speakers at 缅北禁地 Graduation 2025.

Sarah Dean and David Hill each spoke warmly of their time at Harper Adams, before passing on words of advice for the assembled graduates, friends, family, supporters and guests drawn from their time in industry.

Sarah Dean, BSc (Hons) Agrifood Marketing and Business Studies, 1998

Sarah is owner and Chair of Noble Foods, a family business founded in 1920. 

She graduated from Harper Adams in 1998 after completing a four-year degree.  As Chair of Noble Foods, Sarah works closely with her executive team focusing on continued growth, whilst staying true to the company’s core values of animal welfare, sustainability and innovation. 

She is also a Councillor for the World Egg Organisation and a Judge for the National Women in Agriculture Awards. 

She told the ceremony: “Education is without doubt, a privilege. I struggled at school, it all seemed meaningless, but at Harper everything made sense.

“It was relatable and applicable – the assignments were often real-life scenarios and even now, as I sit as Chair of my own family business, I will draw on things I learnt – often that I wasn’t even aware I had taken in.

“The placement year is also such a valuable part of the Harper experience. My time in a fresh and frozen meals PLC gave me incredible insight, not just into how a business operates, but also into what I enjoyed most, where my skills lay, and what motivates me.”

Sarah reflected on the shared experiences and the diverse networks which Harper Adams graduates can draw on as they progress in their chosen careers and added: “Having been to Harper is a common ground for building stronger relationships, and for reaching out to people that you don’t know but who you believe may be able to help you.

“But above all, graduating from Harper, as you all are today, gives you credibility. It says you understand, and as Ken said, you are part of a community.

“You should all feel proud to have attended Harper.

“I hope you have loved it like I did, and I hope that as you forge your careers in the industry you have chosen, you remember the friends you have made, the knowledge you have built, and the staff and lecturers that made it all possible.”

David Hill, BSc (Hons) Rural Enterprise and Land Management, 2005

David has spent 20 years in a diverse mix of rural Estate Management roles starting with a national firm and more recently at the helm of a charitable trust, with a large farming, forestry and residential estate at its core.

He spent time at the CLA as agricultural policy advisor; helping to shape and advise on agricultural policy in the UK and Brussels.  David now sits as chair of their Berkshire committee.

During the Covid lockdown, he created The Greatest Online Agricultural Show and in 2024, became a director of the Oxford Farming Conference.

He retains a keen interest in agricultural policy and is a committed champion of rural estates and farming but will not shy away from highlighting where both need to improve their image.

He reflected on some of the opportunities – and challenges – which the food and farming industries will face in the coming years and told the graduating students: “We’ve weathered many storms as one of the oldest industries in the world and we’ll weather this one.

“People like you folks in here are going to be the ones driving that.  To do it effectively, you are going to need to draw on these skills you have developed in your time at Harper. 

“You’re going to need to work with all of those around you and apply your practical skills.  This is how great things happen - and how opportunities grasped become huge success.

“I would urge you to keep in contact with each other, and don’t be shy in saying ‘hello’ to those you don’t know so well.

“If I could offer you once piece of advice, it’s this: build teams of good people around you in whatever you do. They may not always be your natural best friends, but diverse teams of good people around will help you get things done and as importantly, pick you up when things don’t go so well.

“We are all winging it, but together things start working and working well. You have such a strong grounding as a graduate from Harper Adams, and I am certain that I will see many of you go on to do brilliant things.”