The Class of 2017 was historic for being the first set of 12th graders to graduate in the territory.
The Class of 2018 was historic for a completely different reason, Elmore Stoutt High School Principal Sandy Underhill said during the ESHS graduation ceremony last Thursday on the lawn of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
“In one short school year, some of you lost everything,” Ms. Underhill told students. “You came to your new school with a myriad of challenges and changes to the way we did things; changes to the way you were used to being taught; noisy classrooms; changes in the very infrastructure — in fact, every facet of the school.”
Although the ceremony took place far from the gutted campus in Road Town, signs of hurricanes Irma and Maria were all over, from the photograph of the shattered school building on the cover of the graduation programme to a slideshow chronicling the students’ journey in recent months.
All told, 124 members of the ESHS class of 2018 received their diplomas. They were among a total of 162 graduates from the territory’s four public high schools — down from 198 last year — and 32 from the three private high schools.
Number of graduates
Of the 124 ESHS graduates, 63 received honours and four received high honours, Ms. Underhill said.
Receiving Exemplary Performance Awards, given to students maintaining an A average every year and every term from grades seven through 12, were vale- dictorian Beyonce Defreitas, salutatorian Shamika Langford, Abdiel Mateo and Smeralda Avril.
During her valedictory speech, Ms. Defreitas described hurricanes Irma and Maria as having “destructed our lives, plain and simple.”
“We were all tested beyond what most we thought we could endure, but we are here today,” she said. “We are celebrating academic success. We are celebrating our success in overcoming the trauma these two powerful forces imposed on us.”
Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn praised the graduates for adapting to a devastating new reality. He also urged them to think seriously about the contributions they want to make to a territory that faces the formidable task of rebuilding.
“Whether those contributions will be in education, construction, financial services, agriculture or health services, the government and people of this territory are depending on you,” he said. “The rebuilding of the Virgin Islands will require each of you to utilise your collective skills and talents and work together to create a Virgin Islands that we can all be proud of.”
A tough year
For the school year, ESHS students were accommodated in the Clarence Thomas Limited building in Pasea on a shift system, dealing with everything from excess noise to lack of exam space.
Ms. Langford, the salutatorian, described the class of 2018 as “powerful and resilient, [showing] courage in adversity, and stamina.”
“We have pushed boundaries in every possible way to obtain
where we are today,” she said.
Poet and academic Dr. Richard Georges, a 1998 graduate of the school, delivered the keynote address, in which he noted that if this school year taught the students anything, it was that “failure is not death.”
“Failure is not final,” he added. “Failure is not permanent. It would have been so easy to give up with all the excuses in the world, [but] because of your persistence, you refused to quit and now you are here.”
Added Ms Underhill, “You have overcome the unimaginable; you have survived the storm — not just the literal storms of Irma and Maria but
the storms that manifested as serious challenges as a result. There will be many more storms in your lives, … but this past school year has already prepared you to overcome each one of them.”
On Virgin Gorda, Bregado Flax Educational Centre graduated 26, four of whom were in the top 20 students in the territory, according to Mr. Walwyn.
The valedictorian was Jackisha Rigobert. With a 4.0 GPA, she finished fourth in the territory. The salutatorian was Mariah Christian, who finished 11th with a 3.7 GPA.
BFEC students faced similar challenges as their counterparts on Tortola. Though it has re- opened, the VG school, like ESHS, was also hit hard by the storm. Secondary and primary students were sharing one building until November, when MSC Cruises, Inc. donated a 4,000- square-foot semi-permanent structure for younger students.
In January, Mr. Walwyn announced an agreement with Unite BVI and FLOW to donate over $1.5 million toward rebuilding the secondary division.
Incoming students, however, face a wait and may have to learn patience from those who went before them.
“We had some huge challenges but everyone stuck to task and now we have our students leaving secondary education on schedule despite the ravages of hurricanes Irma and Maria,” Mr. Walwyn wrote on Facebook, adding, “This is significant.”
Technical school, Anegada
At the four-year-old VI School of Technical Studies, the Class of 2018 consisted of 11 graduates. The valedictorian was Akema Jupiter and the salutatorian was Kaywanna Pope, who both earned 3.30 GPAs.
Mr. Walwyn praised them, writing, “The formation of this institution is one of the initia- tives that I was proud to usher in as minister for education.”
On Anegada, the Claudia Creque Educational Centre Class of 2018 consisted of just one graduate, Rondel Smith.
“I would like to thank Principal [Tonya] Bertie and her team for the excellent work that they continue to do,” Mr. Walwyn wrote on Facebook.
private schools
Meanwhile, 32 students graduated from the territory’s three private second- ary schools.
The BVI Seventh-day Adventist School Class of 2018, consisting of 17 graduates, was the 14th graduating class since the school opened, Pastor Desmond James noted in his remarks.
“This year is a defining year of us,” he told students. “You fought the odds and decided that you would never be defined by your circumstances.”
The valedictorian was Pearly Grace Oyenjunti and the salutatorian was Daveon Tapper.
“As we look back on the last three years we spent together, I hope that we can all see that it was a truly enjoyable experience,” Ms. Oyenjunti said in her valedictory address, adding, “We must take the lessons we have learned during the hurricanes. Irma take away our roads, our utility services, but not our God. With God’s help, we will rebuild and regain all that we have lost.”
At St. George’s Secondary, 14 graduates made up the Class of 2018, which was recognised in a ceremony on June 26. The valedictorian was Ky-moné Dawson and the salutatorian was Sad’e Williams.
Germain Cline, a primary school parent, wrote in the programme, “This year has been quite a challenge; lots of adjustments and bittersweet moments. We were all af- fected by the Hurricanes of 2017, but when we look back, we have learned to trust God that He is working all things for our good.”
Cedar International
Cedar International School’s Class of 2018 contained just one graduate, Faith Amory, and three “honourary” graduates: Leo Forte, Teo Doux-LaPlace Peyronnet and Liliana Rhymer, each of whom finished elsewhere due to Hurricane Irma.