‘The luckiest generation’

“Look beneath your seats for your personal copy of all that is required for success,” UWI St Augustine’s valedictorian Rayshawn Pierre directed her now-former classmates during the Faculty of Humanities and Education’s graduation ceremony yesterday.

Unsurprisingly, there was nothing there, although a few did try to peek at a prize.

“Nothing. The truth is, there is nothing under your seats because there are no blueprints for your success,” Pierre said. There will be many Anansi-type figures who will claim to have the secret, but beware, she said, simply because the road to success is different for everyone.

She did, however, offer some words of advice. “Become more resilient, optimistic and socially aware. Our faculty, maintains as its ethos, the most human way of viewing the world… to see perspectives through others’ eyes, to challenge traditional and conventional thought… as a collective social responsibility,” she said.

Pierre was among the more than 200 graduates of the faculty, who officially received their certificated of their achievements yesterday morning. Among them, Elizabeth Montano, mother of soca superstar Machel Montano, who earned her fourth degree, a Master of Philosophy in Cultural Studies for her thesis charting the career of her son. Montano told the university television channel that she intends to publish her thesis as a book.

Also graduating was Kevin Soyer, a disabled student who, in his second year was struck with a rare spinal condition, leaving him paralysed. After a year of rehabilitation, he was finally able to restart his studies and yesterday, four years after his diagnosis, Soyer crossed the stage with the aid of crutches, to the loudest cheers of the day.

The biggest honour of the day, however, was delivered posthumously, to Winston “Shadow” Bailey, who was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree. Shadow died four days before the ceremony, and was due to perform. Stepping in, though, to celebrate his hero was music major KV Charles, who sang a medley of Shadow’s hits, My Belief, Bassman, and Dingolay, in a near-pitch perfect rendition, even matching the iconic vocalisations. Shadow’s son Sharlan Bailey, who accepted the award on his father’s behalf, performed One Love, the song the calypso legend had initially selected.

“Thankfully, (Shadow) did not give up calypso to go and plant peas in Tobago, and instead has given us over 45 albums of extraordinary music that has influences generations of calypso and rapso artists,” said Prof Christine Carrington, the university’s public orator, as she officially conferred the degree.

UWI chancellor Robert Bermudez challenged graduates to seize the opportunities a changing world offers them.

“How lucky you are to be graduating at this time. This is a time of much excitement and hope. You are the luckiest of generations. Your future is lit bright by rapidly developing technology. It will fall on you to solve the greatest challenge of our time— climate change and opportunities will present itself to you in different forms. Keep an open mind. Do not miss them. Mould the countries of your dreams. Dream large and you can do it,” he said.