Addressing graduating students, she added: “Do it. Follow your passion but do so with purpose. Journalism can still be a force for good.
“Go out there, take up space, use your voice and show the world why you’re needed.”
Cole received her postgraduate diploma in Broadcast Journalism in 2003 from the University of Central England (now BCU).
She later returned to the institution as director of undergraduate journalism courses, a role she held from 2018 to 2022.
“Without BCU, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said.
“Professor Diane Kemp supported me from day one of my studies through the harsh realities of the competitive media industry.
“That course changed my life. We were taught to be news reporters with integrity, how to use our voice and how to hold power to account.
“Studying and later teaching here allowed me to bring my ambition to life – and to prove to myself that I could help nurture the next generation of journalists into meaningful employment.”
Cole is also a founding board member of BCU’s Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, which launched in 2020.
She said: “For Sir Lenny to establish a research centre in my city, focused on issues I’d spent years working on, was simply an opportunity too important to turn down.”