USP graduates urged to look beyond personal success and serve others

University of the South Pa­cific (USP) graduates were challenged to look beyond personal success to serve, lead and uplift future generations.

USP Pro-Chancellor and chair of Council and Interim Management Group, Siosiua Utoikamanu deliv­ered the message during the Sep­tember Graduation Day 2 ceremony at the Vodafone Arena in Suva on Friday.

About 462 students graduated, contributing to 1341 students from across the region who were con­ferred qualifications this week.

Mr Utoikamanu reminded gradu­ates that their achievements were made possible through the support and sacrifices of others and that they now carry a responsibility to contribute to what came next.

"Every person sitting here today is the beneficiary of something that somebody else helped create," he said.

He urged graduates to recognise the role of their families, friends,teachers and communities in their journeys and to carry that same spirit of responsibility into their fu­ture careers.

"There is also responsibility be­cause eventually, we become the people responsible for what hap­pens next," he said.

Graduate speaker Nikita Natasha Padarath also reflected on perse­verance, sharing how she balanced full-time employment with evening studies while changing direction to pursue what genuinely interested her.

The Bachelor of Law graduate en­couraged her fellow graduates to value their education as a lifelong asset.

Graduates from the School of Ac­counting, Finance and Economics, School of Pacific Arts, Communica­tion and Education, and School of Law and Social Sciences received their qualifications during the cer­emony.

They joined more than 60,000 USP alumni, contributing to develop­ment across the Pacific and beyond.