It’s quite a responsibility being a bearer of light for an entire region, having the destiny of some 44 million people, separated by islands decorating the Caribbean Sea, on your shoulders. Watching the faces of graduates, several thousand over three days at UWI St Augustine’s 2025 graduation ceremonies, I wondered if it was too much. I wondered if they understood what was expected of them.
“You are not just graduates,” Chancellor Dr Dodridge D Miller said to them in his address, “you are the architects of Caribbean possibility.”
They have much design work to do. This region needs them more than ever. But what do they need? What do they want?
As valedictorian Joshua Lamy Ramsden said, speaking to and on behalf of the graduates from the Faculty of Humanities and Education and the Faculty of Sport:
“Be deliberate. Be resilient. Be the movement that transforms not just our region, but the world.”
It was the message shared over all three days, from October 23 to 25, by every valedictorian. They were challenged, they overcame, they found community, and they fully intend to work for the betterment of their islands and the lands beyond.
“The truth is,” said valedictorian Ayanah Z Mohammed, speaking for the students from the Faculty of Medical Sciences, “the future of medicine is not just happening out there; it is happening in this very room. Each of us carries the potential to push boundaries, to innovate, and to heal in ways even greater than what we see today. The next transformative procedure, the next life-saving discovery, the next paradigm shift in healthcare could very well come from one of us.”
This is not bravado. The light bearers of 2025 have proven themselves, on campus and in their lives. Over the course of the ceremonies, I heard many stories of perseverance. I saw graduates with disabilities that made it challenging for them to even cross the stage to receive their degrees. Yet they crossed the stage. I shared a moment of silence silence with the attendees at The UWI’s Sport and Physical Education Centre for young law student Alexia Trim, who died a week before her graduation.
Truthfully, the graduating class is prepared to become “the light rising in the West” because they passed through fire.
“I grew up in Belle Vue,” said Faculties of Engineering and Law valedictorian Jehoshua Williams, “a place often described as a hotspot area, the ghettos, a gunman area...I’ve heard it all. But those words never told the full story.”
“Why is this all important?” he asked.
“It is about redefining stigma and drawing strength from whatever adversity you may face. But strength alone is not enough. It must be carried through perseverance and an unyielding spirit.”
What powerful words. Here’s to the graduating class of light bearers—may the university spirit continue unyieldingly from past to future generations, illuminating us all.
