As the University of Guyana gears up to stage its 51st Convocation in grand style today, the institution has announced the student who managed to cop the honour of Valedictorian for this year.
Emerging in as the front runner amidst a group of about 2000 graduating students was a 25-year-old International Relations student, Elsie Harry.
UG’s Valedictorian 2017, Elsie Harry
Harry, who is the former president of the university’s International Affairs Association, took to social media on Friday to express delight at being named UG’s Valedictorian for 2017. The young woman summed up her feelings as being “overwhelmed”, and went on to thank here well-wishers for their support throughout her journey of higher levels of academic and professional pursuits.
All the while, scores of family, friends and colleagues also reached out to the high flyer via the online platform, congratulating her on this coveted and highly prestigious achievement.
Among those commending the 25-year-old on this landmark achievement was UG’s International Affairs Association. In doing so, they conveyed, “You are a brilliant mind, an extraordinary human being, and definitely a force to be reckoned with. We applaud all the hard work you’ve put into this Association and by extension our University.”
Meanwhile, UG graduation this year was advertised with a number of developments, of which for the first time in the history of the university, graduands emanating from certificate, diploma and degree programmes offered at the institution will be awarded at two separate ceremonies.
Initially, the graduation ceremony for students attached to the Faculties of Agriculture and Forestry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Technology will be held at the National Cultural Centre earlier in the day, while for those stemming from the faculties of Education and Humanities, Health Sciences, and Social Sciences the ceremony will be held on the Turkeyen campus in the afternoon.
However, due to inclement weather and alarming forecasts, the University’s administration has indicated a shift in venue, which will now see the latter half of the graduation being staged at the National Exhibition Centre, Georgetown, and is expected to commence at 16:30hrs.
Booked to deliver the feature address at the first ceremony is Dr Dhanpaul Narine, who is a distinguished educator and journalist based in New York, while Ambassador Rudolph Michael Ten-Pow, who studied modern languages, will give the keynote at the ceremony set for the new Sophia location.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education, the extra-mural arm of the university, is scheduled to hold its graduation ceremonies for its four centres as follows: Georgetown Centre on November 25; Linden Centre on November 26; Anna Regina Centre on December 2, and the New Amsterdam Centre on December 9, 2017.
