Barbados Governor-General Dame Sandra Mason has heralded the values buttressed at her alma mater, the University of The West Indies (The UWI), as one of the major reasons for her success in life, Barbados Today reported on Sunday.
During a special convocation ceremony at which The UWI conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree in recognition of her outstanding contribution to public service, Dame Sandra emphasized that values such as integrity, intellectual freedom, excellence and civic responsibility were among the core values, which encompasses the university’s mandate.
In 1970, Dame Sandra was a student in the first cohort of the law faculty at Cave Hill. Since that time she has navigated a successful career, rising from an attorney, magistrate and judge. Now she sits at the pinnacle as head of state. Quite recently she was nominated by the cabinet to serve as the first president as Barbados moves to become a republic by Nov. 30.
Paying tribute to her family and colleagues, whom she noted had all played a significant role in her development, the governor-general expressed how deeply honored and proud she is to be a product of the vision for The UWI. According to her, that vision rests in the understanding that to continue to fulfill the vision of bringing light, liberty and learning to our people it needed to definitively proclaim our caribbeaness.