The University of the Virgin Islands continued celebrating nearly 300 graduates Friday during the 62nd commencement ceremony for the Albert A. Sheen Campus at Island Center for the Performing Arts on St. Croix, where messages of perseverance, cultural pride, community service and resilience echoed throughout the celebration.
The ceremony followed Thursday’s commencement exercises on St. Thomas.
From reflections on hidden growth and generational achievement to reminders to “pour back” into the Virgin Islands community, speakers challenged the “ambitious, courageous and empowered” Class of 2026 to use their education to uplift the territory and shape its future.
UVI President Safiya George said the university has celebrated more than 11,000 graduates since its founding in 1962, with this year’s graduating class adding nearly 300 more alumni to that legacy.
George also recognized students graduating with 4.0 grade-point averages, along with summa cum laude and magna cum laude honorees, and others in the class, referring to them as “unicorns” for their exceptional academic achievements.
The ceremony also marked a milestone for UVI’s School of Agriculture, as the university celebrated only its second graduating class from the program.
“UVI has celebrated over 11,000 graduates and degrees since 1962. Yesterday and today, 300 of you, nearly, will be adding to the already 4,424 business leaders who earned degrees from UVI,” George said. “You’ll be adding 26 to the 2,100 educators who got their degree from UVI, adding 63 to the nearly 2,000 liberal arts and social science degrees, including five masters in social work, three masters in public administration, and three masters in psychology.”
She continued by highlighting the university’s contributions to science, healthcare and agriculture.
“You’ll also be adding 74 to the 1,700 science and math degrees, including 15 masters in marine and environmental sciences, and 26 of the healing bliss class of 2026 will add to the nearly 1,000 nurses that UVI has already produced,” George said. “And adding five to the 11 agriculture professionals.”
George also celebrated the university’s growing doctoral programs, noting that 14 new Ph.D. graduates joined the ranks of more than 31 UVI alumni with doctoral degrees.
The ceremony also included special recognition for Adam O’Neal and Rena Brodhurst, both of whom received honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees.
Brodhurst was recognized for her longstanding contributions to journalism and the community as publisher and editor of the St. Croix Avis, the longest continuously published newspaper in the history of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Adam O’Neal, affectionately known throughout the territory as “Adam O.,” was honored for helping elevate Virgin Islands music and culture on the global stage through his work as an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur and cultural ambassador.
Referring to himself jokingly as “Dr. O.,” Adam O. delivered emotional remarks about kindness, community and the people who shaped his life growing up on St. Croix.
“There’s an icon … I feel never got his flowers, and today I want to honor that icon,” he said before describing the beloved “fraco man,” who would serve icy treats to children throughout the community.
“This man, to me, was an icon from since I was a child,” Adam O. said. “Each of you graduates here today, you have something that the fraco man showed me. You have a light. You have the ability to make somebody go from bad to good, and all it takes is a moment of kindness.”
Near the conclusion of his remarks, Adam O. reflected on the people who supported him throughout his upbringing.
“I seen faces in this crowd that raised me. I see people in this crowd that gave me a ride when I walked on the side of the road,” he said. “And I want to say that I am proud to stand in front of you as Dr. Adam Lamar O’Neal, a.k.a. Adam O.”
Graduate speaker SaVaughna John-Baptiste delivered an inspirational address focused on perseverance, comparing personal growth to the unseen development that occurs beneath the soil.
“Through horticulture, I learned something from the land itself,” John-Baptiste said. “Growth is not always visible. A seed underground can look like nothing. A field can look empty before it becomes abundant.”
She encouraged graduates not to become discouraged during difficult or uncertain seasons in life.
“So to anyone who ever felt like their progress was too slow, do not confuse hidden growth with no growth,” she said. “Some roots deepen before anything blooms. And today, we bloomed.”
Delegate Stacey Plaskett also addressed graduates, reminding them that earning a degree represents an opportunity rather than a final destination.
“Today, we celebrate a milestone for the graduates who did not merely reach it, they earned it,” Plaskett said.
“I want to begin with a simple truth. The world does not reward you for having a degree. It hands you an opportunity,” she continued. “What you do with that opportunity is entirely up to you.”
Plaskett acknowledged the sacrifices many students and families made to reach graduation day.
“Some of you here today were the first in your family to earn a college degree. Some of you had the weight of a family who required it,” she said. “What you have accomplished is not just personal. It’s for generations. You have changed the trajectory of your family’s story forever, and no one can take that away from you.”
Calling a degree “a departure point,” Plaskett encouraged graduates to embrace their identities and heritage proudly.
“You have heard that you were graduating from the only historically Black college and university in the Caribbean. That as well carries weight,” she said. “Because in a time and place where being Black in this country is a target, is an attempted erasure, being Black is important. Being fully Black is necessary.”
“And as Caribbean people, we know no one can take from us what we will not give,” Plaskett added. “And so you have a special requirement in this time.”
Milton Potter, president of the 36th Legislature of the Virgin Islands, encouraged graduates to remain connected to the Virgin Islands and use their talents to strengthen their communities.
“Waste nothing. Not your talent, not your time, not your connection to this place and these people,” Potter said. “The Virgin Islands did not produce you so that you could disappear into mediocrity.”
“These islands, this water, this sun, this culture, this community poured itself into you,” he continued. “Now pour it back.”
Lieutenant Gov. Tregenza A. Roach praised the accomplishments of the graduating class and encouraged students to honor those who paved the way for them.
“I am proud of your accomplishments and proud of the faculty that has instilled in you this desire, this wish to learn, to become and to build your communities,” Roach said.
“Because this place, which we have inherited and which we will leave, will depend on you to make good choices for it,” he said. “And I want you to consider the people who have gone before you, who have paved the way for you to be here.”
“When you make these choices for the Virgin Islands, and when you help it become to its full potential,” Roach added.
He also took the opportunity to emphasize that UVI’s free tuition program is here to stay.
“It will not go away. We have to find a way to make it live,” Roach said, noting that the initiative has contributed to a 67% increase in enrollment in the territory’s public schools.
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. encouraged graduates to pursue their passions fearlessly and remain resilient despite challenges.
“What matters is how hard you put your heart into what you do,” Bryan said. “This is the most passionate generation we have ever had.”
“Be passionate about something,” he continued. “Figure out what it is you want to do, dance to your own music, be different, excel.”
Bryan reminded graduates that obstacles are inevitable but said the determination that brought them to graduation would carry them even further.
“It’s gonna be harder. That’s just how life is,” he said. “But you had the grit to make it this far. You could make it further.”
Also present for the ceremony were senators, government officials and other dignitaries from across the Virgin Islands community.
