A Welsh Patagonian student has returned to her family’s roots and graduated with a Master’s degree from a mid Wales University.

Soledad Valeria Davies is the 5th generation of a family who emigrated to Patagonia, in Argentina, from Rhymney during the 19th Century. The region, Y Wladfa, is famed for the Welsh families who migrated there at the time to establish a Welsh settlement.

But Soledad returning to her roots, choosing to complete a Master’s degree in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Lampeter campus.

Soledad’s family travelled from Argentina to join her in Lampeter for the graduation ceremony. They are hoping to travel to Rhymney to trace their family’s roots.

Despite residing in Patagonia, the family have maintained their Welsh traditions, including singing Welsh hymns and cooking Welsh dishes and take great pride in their history which has been documented in their family bible.

Soledad said of her master’s degree: “The course has been amazing. I was previously frustrated with academia, but the lecturers here are so inspiring my mind and my heart are now open to studying.”

Soledad was accompanied by her family, who had travelled from Argentina to attend the graduation ceremony.
Soledad was accompanied by her family, who had travelled from Argentina to attend the graduation ceremony. (University of Wales Trinity Saint David)

Dr Nicholas Campion, Programme Director of MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology and Director of the Sophie Centre for Cosmology in Culture and the Harmony Institute at UWTSD said: “It’s a fantastic honour to have a student from a Welsh family who migrated to Patagonia some centuries ago who has come back to study in Wales. It is a real homecoming and we’re very proud of Soledad’s achievements.

“This Master’s programme is unique as it is the only academic degree in the world which explores the meaning and significance that people attribute to the stars and the planets. The programme deals with all cultures and all time periods”.