16
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 7TH DECEMBER, 2014
ENERGY
UWI GRADUATION CEREMONIES 2014
Faculty of Social Sciences
HONORARY GRADUATE
CATHERINE KUMAR
The Scourge of Entitlement
“A scary scourge of entitlement seems to be plaguing our land and many of our new
graduates. Far too many walk through the doors of business, degree in hand, expecting
success, unwilling to work a long day. In some, I have seen commitment so lacking that more
time is spent on social media than in toiling to deliver quality work on time, or without
excuses. My father was tough on my eight siblings and me. He was committed to our success.
Naturally as children, our commitment was to play hard. However, he taught us to work
harder than we played. …Miss school? Church? Hand in assignments late? No chance! Up
to this day, my siblings and I, inspite of juggling family lives, successful careers and glorious
social lives, are known for keeping our commitments because THAT is part of who we are.”
VALEDICTORIAN
KAMAIRA GOPAUL
We are Agents of Change
“In this room, are our future businessmen and businesswomen; politicians, researchers,
managers of major state-owned and private companies, economists, psychologists,
accountants, social workers, lecturers and the list goes on. I urge you to understand, my
fellow graduates, who we really are. In essence, we have all chosen to become social scientists,
and in so doing, we have not only accepted a responsibility to 1.3 million people to build a
better tomorrow but also to the institutions and their functioning in our society. Hence, we
can no longer become complacent, holding onto our pieces of paper in our scrolls. We have
a mandate to forge out in different parts of this vineyard called Trinidad and Tobago as the
change agents that we were mentored to be in our various disciplines.”
FOR FULL ADDRESS, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT:
What students said about UWI:
“Going into social work is more than just helping people.
It’s about empowering people and yourself and it’s people-focused.”
(Social Work)
“I feel liberated. UWI is challenging but worth it.”
(Business Administration)
