–UG Chancellor urges Berbice Campus graduates

CHANCELLOR of the University of Guyana Professor John Edward Green delivering the feature address at the 18th convocation exercise at the Berbice Campus in Tain, East Berbice Corentyne urged the graduates to be the voices of transformation and help promote social cohesion rather than division.

“Be the voices of transformation; use your voices to shape public opinion by talking about issues of inclusion and equality of keeping them on the front burner, and taking action to ensure their fulfillment,” Greene, who was recently installed as chancellor, said.

He urged the graduates to champion the causes of civil society and the grassroots organisations of Guyana, and empower the marginalised and the disadvantaged. He continued by urging the 216 graduates to make use of technology and the Information Age to help shape policies for the betterment of all.

“Let me then say, Let our multi-cultural heritage influence messages of cohesion rather than divisiveness, and help people recognise the double sword of the digital revolution for which social media has been a boon but also a major source of disinformation.  And then graduates engage in legacy thinking to frame policies and prime people to think about accountability to the future thereby leaving this world a better place. Go forth and conquer the world.”

During his presentation, the chancellor stressed the importance of commitment, discipline and support as being critical components for success. He further highlighted many of the campus’s projects that extend beyond the walls of the campus through public-private partnerships that he described as phenomenal initiatives, and the need for continued human capital investment through education.

“The UG and GOG must utilise gains of oil and gas to support programmes such as those offered on this campus that are complementary to oil and gas, and provide the basis for sustainable or responsible development and the ‘green’ economy,” Professor Greene said.

Meanwhile, this year’s Valedictorian, 24-year-old Juanita Beejaimal, a teacher of the New Amsterdam Secondary School became the first student from the faculty of Natural Sciences to receive the Best Graduating Student award for the Berbice Campus, having obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. During her address, she highlighted the many challenges the Class of 2019 faced but managed to overcome through determination and perseverance and can now look towards the future with renewed hope.

“As we close this chapter and move on to the next, degree in arms,” Juanita said, “we risk oblivion, making the wrong choices, disappointing those we care about. But more than that, we risk failing by not trying.”

In closing, she urged her colleagues to remain humble, learn from their mistakes and hold their heads high with pride. “Despite our having our degrees, let us remain open to learning,” she said, adding: “The truth is, having a degree does not mean we have our lives figured out, nor that we are infallible. We will make those mistakes, and inevitably disappoint those we care about and make the wrong choices here and there, but in all of these, let us look for the lessons to be learnt.

Now that we will be embarking on the next chapter, let us define success on our own terms! Let us rise with even more grit than after every fall! Let us actualise the ambition cradled in us!”

Of the 216 persons that graduated, 151 were females, while 65 were males. With 69 graduates, the Education and Humanities faculty had the largest batch of students. Among the graduands was 36-year-old Colleen Hamilton of the Faculty of Social Scences, who, despite being differently abled, was able to persevere to the very end. The youngest was 17-year-old Sujada Azeez, who graduated with an Associate Degree in computer science.