October 2013


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Personally, it is an incredible feeling that forty years ago, in 1973, I was, like most of you here today, a new student, beginning my university life at The University of the West Indies, but at the Mona Campus in Jamaica. \

I am proud to be a graduate of The UWI, this premier academic institution which, since the opening of its first campus in Jamaica in 1948, has produced thousands of alumni who have gone on to impact the region and the world in all spheres of endeavour.

Today, I join in welcoming this year’s incoming class and I congratulate you all on making it to this next level of your academic career. Usually, on such occasions the focus is understandably on you, matriculating students, however, I challenge you to consider that you are not here solely by dint of your own hard work and commitment. Reflect on those who helped make today possible. Perhaps it was a parent or guardian, a teacher, a study partner, a friend, a mentor. Perhaps it was someone with whom you may never even have spoken but who provided the necessary inspiration for you to pursue excellence. Perhaps it was that classmate whom you made it a point would never beat you in exams, or maybe it was someone who callously or unwittingly told you that you would never amount to anything. Perhaps poverty or other difficult life circumstances helped firm your resolve to achieve. Encouragement comes in all forms and perhaps, without that push or that support, we would never scratch the surface of our potential.

Successive governments and by extension, the taxpayers of Trinidad and Tobago have also invested in you by providing free tertiary education for our citizens. This privilege must not be taken lightly for there are some who do not enjoy this privilege. By investing in you, the nation is demonstrating not only its commitment to your future but also its belief in your potential. Always remember, even as you focus on your own individual dreams and pursuits, that you are the nation’s investment.

Permit me to share with you a few of my thoughts as you embark upon your university career:

The importance of discipline

With an average of some twelve hours per week of scheduled classes, time management is critical to your academic success and total development. At university, procrastination is your worst enemy as it is easy to lose focus on why you are here in the first place.

The importance of teamwork

There are persons of varying ability and it is a sad truth that students are often content to watch others stumble and not offer assistance. This is unfortunate and ironic since, in the working world, success is often defined by how well one can work with others. Why not begin changing that mindset while you are here?

The importance of persistence

It is often said that education is the key to success. While this may be so, experience has taught me that persistence is sometimes an even greater key. History shows that many of the world’s most successful men and women were not the brightest and most educated, but were the most innovative and most persistent.

The importance of character/personal integrity

The world is replete with examples of highly accomplished men and women whose lack of integrity has been exposed and whose reputations have been permanently tainted. Fame, wealth, brilliance and talent will all be skewed without integrity. Integrity is not for national and international leaders alone. It equally applies to each of you here today.

The importance of service

Selfishness has become a cancer in our society. The gifted and talented among us must not exempt themselves from service and from engaging themselves in the issues of the wider society. I have observed that, by virtue of their exceptional gifts, skills and talents, we have placed them on pedestals and in glass boxes, only to be admired and emulated. In so doing we rob them and ourselves of that humility that is born of service, to their and to our ultimate detriment. I encourage you to seek out opportunities to serve. I also ask you to consider investing in your homeland. Even if you go abroad to pursue further studies and to gain invaluable experience, why not return home and invest in those who have invested in you? Our nation needs its best and brightest if it is to continue to move forward

As university students, you are not isolated from the real world. You are a part of it. The university is not the proverbial ivory tower that most make it out to be. Real life and its attendant issues do not retreat while you study. These are the years in which you begin making important and potentially stressful decisions about the future. While you are here, you may face family conflict, divorce of parents, breakdown of relationships, serious illness, death of a loved one, pregnancy, academic pressure, bullying and even sexual abuse. Any of these issues can force you into a place where you may feel powerless, severely affecting your ability to cope and to focus on your studies.

I have heard far too many accounts where students have found themselves unable to cope with various types of stress, leading to depression and ultimately suicide. According to the World Health Organisation, among 15- to 19-year-olds, suicide is the second leading cause of death worldwide after accidents. The Global School Health Report for Trinidad and Tobago (2007) indicated approximately 18% of students within the 13-15 year age group who were interviewed considered attempting suicide.

You are a group more acquainted with success than with failure. What happens when you fail? What happens when you do the wrong thing? What happens when life doesn’t go as you planned? I want to raise the importance of genuine community and friendship. You may think you have friends because you have liming and study partners but do you really look out for one another? Can you tell when something is really affecting your partner? It is important that you have people who you can confide in, people you can share the difficult issues with, whether they are friends, family, religious leaders, counsellors, professors. There is nothing noble in suffering silently, especially if that suffering will lead to hurting yourself and those who love you.

I have noted the emergence of the disturbing new trend of “cyber-bullying.” Technology is a tool of great benefit, providing convenience and utility, and helping to make the university experience both pleasant and productive. But like any other tool, technology is only as good as the person using it. Using the Internet, especially websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, people have become cowards, resorting to lurking in cyberspace, using fake social media accounts and harassing and degrading others with whom they have a dispute. Where has your manliness gone? Why not come out of the shadows, look the other person in the eyes and discuss your beef, as it were? Don’t add to this generation of cowards.

I congratulate you, once more, and look forward to the lasting contribution which you will make to the further development of our beautiful nation of Trinidad and Tobago, to the Caribbean region and to the world.

This version of the address by His Excellency Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona ORTT, S.C. at the Annual Matriculation and Welcome Ceremony at The UWI St. Augustine Campus’ JFK Quadrangle on Thursday 19 September, has been slightly edited for length.