By Simone Augustus, Communications Specialist, Office of the President & Nadira Mohammed, Corporate Communications Assistant
The University of the Southern Caribbean held its annual Honors Convocation on Monday, March 24, 2025 at the USC Auditorium, recognizing 485 students for their academic excellence. Held under the theme “From Aspiration to Achievement,” the ceremony celebrated USCians who have distinguished themselves through sustained discipline and performance.
The audience was made up of students honored across five academic schools: Science, Technology & Allied Health; Business & Entrepreneurship; Education & Humanities; Theology & Religion; and Social Sciences.
Thirty-five students earned placement on the Provost’s List, reserved for those with a cumulative GPA between 3.74 and 3.99 over consecutive semesters. Another 450 students made the Dean’s List, each maintaining a GPA of at least 3.50 for a single semester.
But the tone of the evening went well beyond the numbers.
“…Honors Convocation is a special time,” said Provost Dr. Len Archer. Although the event was focused on celebrating academic excllence, Dr. Archer emphasized that USC’s unique educational philosophy defines true success as, “the development of the head, the heart, and the hand.” Many honorees, he noted, are leaders in student clubs, music groups, and church life. Some balance studies with jobs and family responsibilities. “This is academic success, but also balance.”
Dr. Archer also had a message for those not being honored: “Let this inspire you. Celebrate your peers today, and let their success push you toward your own.”
The event also acknowledged the university’s faculty and staff—those who work quietly behind the scenes, challenging, mentoring, and supporting students day after day. Dr. Archer thanked them for their role in shaping not just intellect, but character.
Mr. Gary Awai served as keynote speaker; taking the stage, he didn’t start with a grand flourish or polished soundbite. Instead, he said what many speakers don’t: “This is supposed to be fun.” And for much of his address, it was honest, warm, and disarmingly personal.
Speaking to USC’s highest-achieving students, Mr. Awai, CEO of Development Finance Limited and USC alumnus, cut past clichés. “What if money didn’t matter?” he asked the room. It wasn’t rhetorical. It was a real challenge to a generation often encouraged to define success by paychecks and possessions.
“For some people, success is about the car, the house, the salary. For others, it’s about getting better every day,” he said. Awai, who has taught finance and risk at the University of the West Indies, said that when students asked him how to “get like him,” he realized they were chasing a version of success that didn’t actually explain much. “I drive a truck. I’ve always driven a truck,” he told them.
His point wasn’t to downplay ambition, but to shift it away from status, toward curiosity and service.
“If you don’t have curiosity or a desire to be helpful, you probably won’t get a job with me,” Awai said. “I look for that in interviews. Because if you’re curious, you’ll grow. And if you’re helpful, you’ll serve well.”
USC President Dr. Colwick Wilson approached the podium with a forward-looking message; reminding the audience that the university’s mission goes beyond academic performance.
Dr. Wilson opened his address by congratulating the honorees and tying their success to the university’s broader mission. “USC exists to transform ordinary people into extraordinary servants of God to humanity,” he said. “You’ve excelled not just in academics, but in leadership, service, and integrity.”
Honors Convocation 2025 comes at a pivotal time in USC’s history, the beginning of its centennial celebration. “As we continue this Journey to 100, we look to you; our scholars, our leaders, our future change-makers, to carry forward the banner of Excellence in Motion,” Dr. Wilson charged.
This year’s Honors Convocation was an honest celebration of effort. It recognized students for both their academic performance and ability to persist. For staying the course through tough semesters. For finding meaning not just in books, but in service and community.
As the applause faded and students returned to classes, one thing was clear—achievement at USC isn’t about perfection. It’s about commitment. And for 485 students this year, that commitment was more than enough.
