BY tradition, Lipa students graduate with a handshake from Paul McCartney.
The knighted ex-Beatle is lead patron of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, and, ironically, the only person on the crowded Philharmonic Hall stage each year not to wear a cap and gown.
His presence is symbolic: as if a little bit of stardust rubs off as superstar greets hopeful.
Donna Steele is a Lipa success story. Next month she returns to Liverpool in the title role of touring West End musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Other cast members include Lesley Joseph from BBC comedy Birds Of A Feather, and music theatre specialist Grace Kennedy .
But for Donna, whose first study choice was acting, with musicals as an option, it's as much a tribute to the Lipa teaching methods as her own talent.
"You are taught the significance of every task: how difficult it is to light a show or to do the sound.
"The result is really inter-active and professional. There's no room to think of yourself as the great 'I am'."
Donna, who spent three years at Lipa, where her guest tutors included Ben Elton , recalls: "Shaking hands with Paul McCartney was the proudest moment - even more so for my dad at the reception afterwards.
"When your parents do so much to help get you through college, it's a nice bonus. "Paul McCartney would come to Lipa to do songwriting and guitar classes. You would pass him in the corridor or see him walk though the bar. After a while, it became normal."
