THERE WAS something different about the University of the West Indies’ graduation ceremony this year.
The ceremony, themed “Built to Adapt, Ready to Lead – The Spirit of a Generation Rising amid Unprecedented Times”, was divided into two sessions, as usual, with around 1,277 graduates, 921 undergraduates and 356 postgraduates becoming proud alumni of the prestigious regional institution.
However, the difference came during the morning session when legendary performer, American Doug E. Fresh, who was born Douglas Davis, was bestowed with an honorary Doctor of Letters. While the multi-award winner was not born in the Caribbean, he has a Barbadian mother and a Trinidadian grandfather.
Davis delivered an address which would not be forgotten, though its impact was debatable given the many youth in the crowd who may not have known him as well as the occasion.
However, quite a few of the older ones were seen moving to the beat when he broke into an original hip hop and performed his signature move, the Dougie.
Valedictorian Carina Blache, who earned a Bachelor of Laws with First-Class Honours, detailed some of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of being on the road to becoming a university graduate – issues such as waiting in a shuttle which never arrived and the sinking feeling of seeing a financial hold on their accounts days before an important exam.
Blache said she faced her personal demons when she navigated injury and surgery but said she learned to be resilient, as they all had. She said campus life helped them to hone their soft skills, teaching them humility and composure, creativity, the importance of preparation, time management, critical thinking and how to sleep while standing.
The valedictorian said the good times outweighed the bad, and it was now time for them to prove their worth to the world.
“As we go, may we continue to embody our university’s motto: Oriens Ex Occidente Lux; “A light rising from the West.” May we carry that light into our professions and the wider world; may we give back to the institution that helped shape us; and may we never lose sight of the responsibility that comes with the privilege of our education. “May it be said that we did more than inherit a legacy; we added to it, and that the light we carried from Cave Hill illuminated paths far beyond our own. May we one day be able to say, with conviction, that we used our education, and we used it well,” she said. (CA)