Over 200 Graduate from HLSCC
More than 200 students from the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College were awarded diplomas at the college’s 33rd Graduation Exercise on June 11, 2026. Leaders announced new international articulation agreements and highlighted renewed investment in teacher training as steps to strengthen the territory’s workforce and education system.
More than 200 students crossed the stage at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) 33rd Graduation Exercise on Thursday, June 11, 2026, as family, educators and government officials gathered at the Multi-Purpose Sports Complex to celebrate the Class of 2026 under the theme “Time to Thrive.” Photos of the event were taken by Andre ‘Shadow’ Dawson.
HLSCC President Dr Richard Georges told graduates the college had continued to expand opportunities despite nearly four decades of challenges and progress. He used the occasion to announce new articulation agreements with several United Kingdom universities — London Metropolitan University, Richmond American University, the University of Westminster and the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering.
The agreements are 2+2 arrangements, meaning graduating students who meet entry requirements can complete the final two years of a bachelor’s degree at a partner institution in the UK. For BVI students, those articulations offer a clearer, shorter pathway to a university degree overseas while securing a recognised progression route from HLSCC credentials.
Officials said the partnerships aim to make higher education more accessible and to strengthen the skills pipeline for the territory’s public and private sectors. Board of Governors Chair Dr L Sauda Smith urged graduates to remain authentic and use their talents in service to the community. “The world does not need more people trying to be someone else.
It needs individuals who are courageous enough to become their authentic selves and generous enough to place their talents in the service of humanity,” she said. Education Minister Sharie de Castro highlighted progress in teacher training, noting the revitalisation of HLSCC’s Associate Degree in Education programme.
For the first time in nearly a decade five educators graduated from that associate degree; nine completed the Certificate in Education and 16 earned certificates in Educational Leadership. The minister said these programmes were fully funded by the Virgin Islands government as part of broader efforts to strengthen the territory’s education system.
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley congratulated the graduates and urged them to seize opportunities in careers, entrepreneurship or further study. Keynote speaker Dame Janice Pereira, former Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, encouraged persistence and self-belief, calling belief “one of the most underestimated engines of human achievement.” Graduates, their families and the Territory now look to how the new partnerships and renewed training initiatives will translate into local jobs, leadership and long-term improvements in education and workforce development for the BVI.
Primary source: BVI News