December 2015


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As we curved around that roundabout on our very first day, there it was, straight ahead, the Faculty of Medical Sciences, a place that would soon metamorphose the very outlook of our lives. I was told, this faculty was one of complexity and sophistication, and driving past the car park, I was already confused. I wondered to myself, ‘Why does staff need to have five whole lanes to park?’ We all were confused. And that confused facial expression seemed to have remained on our faces for the next five years. But as we trotted to Amphi A in our newest clothes and heads held high, we knew that what lay before us were pieces of our new lives, waiting to be assembled into the persons we have become today.

My secondary school’s motto stated, A Posse ad Esse, (From possibilities to actuality). Indeed, a few years ago, the possibility of our dreams began as we tiptoed outside TCB3 classroom, nervously searching for our names on an acceptance list. Today however, we stand tall, staring at our names engraved on a degree awarded by The University of the West Indies. From possibility to actuality! Who knows where our names will be next? Congratulations Class of 2015! We made it!

I am told a valedictory speech is expected to represent the life of every student. I wondered, “How can this speech portray those students who ate books for breakfast, lunch and dinner while still exemplifying those envied students who slept or partied all night and walked into the exam room next day with a huge smile on their face and still aced the exam? How can my words adequately describe those sleepless nights of a Pharm student, cramming off a Drug Interaction Handbook, while still representing the anxiety of our Psych students as they counselled their very first suicidal patient. How can my tone of voice relay the enthusiasm of a Vet student as they delivered a newborn? And still describe those golden hearts of care and compassion of our nurses here? How can my imagination comprehend the feeling of accomplishment of a Dent student after doing their first filling; whilst capturing the miracle of sight delivered from the hands of our optometrists here? What about the satisfaction of a Med student after delivering our first baby in O&G or feeling important scrubbed up in theatre holding a retractor? Words are inadequate to portray the totality of our differing emotions, experiences and hardships but what unites us today is that after all, we stand together today as titans in our own field, having conquered the complexities of that place, Mt. Hope.

The UWI experience was indeed a learning experience in and out the classroom. It began as a Rubik’s cube with all our pieces haphazardly arranged, but life gained order as we moved from one level to a next. We discovered ourselves; we discovered our passions; we discovered a home away from home and some luckily discovered love and life partners, while some found none at all. All those fond moments that define our success today not only captured by the many selfies on our phones but engraved in the limbic systems of our brains. Many of you will remember my song back in year one for Mt. Hope Idol, ‘Who say Med Sci’ Let me sing a few lines for you!
https://www.facebook.com/UWISTA/videos/10153347727233893/?permPage=1

Today we not only celebrate our own success but also the success of a great institution, The UWI, for yet again producing another class of intelligent, competent and good-looking individuals. May we ever be minded of our roles as UWI ambassadors and take pride in our Caribbean identity. Today we not only celebrate our own success but the success of our mothers and fathers, our family and friends, whose sacrifices and support were invaluable to our lives. To all our loved ones who may have passed on and could not be present today to share our joys, we say, ‘We love you and thank you.’ We salute our past and present governments for giving us the opportunity to study free of charge at the best university in the world. We pay special tribute today, to a man who went beyond the call of duty to ensure our best interests as students, our former Dean of Faculty, Professor Samuel Ramsewak; a man of wisdom, humility and a model doctor. We graciously welcome to our Faculty in a new capacity our incoming Dean, the well renowned and well loved, Trinidad’s very own ‘Dr. House,’ Professor Terence Seemungal. We praise God most of all for without Him, we would not exist and we know that all good things come from Him.

But after all this success, Albert Einstein said, ‘Try not to be a man of success, try to be a man of value.’

Colleagues, we live in a society today where more emphasis is placed on certification rather than compassion. To some here today, our degree paper means a ticket to a better life, financial stability, comforts and luxuries. But I ask today to consider the alternative. Consider it as a ticket to change the world. As Bono said, ‘The world is more malleable than you think, it is there waiting for you to hammer it into shape’. We can be world changers today. But competence is nothing without character, hand is nothing without heart and skill is nothing without spirit and integrity. Let us therefore arise as a new breed of intellectuals, a peculiar generation of professionals, who is willing to put society before self, country before comfort, world before wealth and God above all!

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, ‘Do not go where the path may lead, instead go where there is no path and leave a trail’. As we open a new chapter in our lives; as we enter a whole new world of possibilities; as we walk into our own destinies, let us leave our own mark in this world. Let us be catalysts of positive change. Let us be better. Let us be stronger. Let us be united. Let us change the world. Congratulations Class of 2015!