The University of the South Pacific (USP) concluded its two-day graduation ceremonies at the Laucala Campus in Suva today, sending 2,026 students — graduating both in person and in absentia — into the region’s workforce and public life. The final ceremony at Vodafone Arena brought together graduates from the School of Accounting, Finance and Economics (SAFE), the Centre for Sustainable Futures (CSF), the School of Pacific Arts, Communication and Education (SPACE), and the School of Law and Social Sciences (SoLASS).
USP Pro‑Chancellor and Chair of Council Siosiua Tuitalukua Tupou Utoikamanu used his address to congratulate graduates while challenging them to consider the legacies they will leave. “To our graduates, today is a day of recognition for everything you have achieved through discipline, sacrifice, resilience and hope,” he said, then urged them to confront a world “marked by climate uncertainty, geopolitical tension, technological disruption and profound social change.” Utoikamanu invoked Pacific chiefly traditions of intergenerational stewardship and, noting the nation was observing the State Funeral of the late Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, said the “highest measure of leadership is not simply office held, but the dignity of service that time continues to honour.”
Personal stories of long journeys to the stage were featured throughout the ceremony. Sanjeshni Devi Kumar received a Bachelor of Laws after a two‑decade struggle punctuated by financial setbacks and health problems. “Although financial and personal challenges forced me to pause, and despite facing serious health challenges since 2024, I never wanted to give up on what truly mattered,” Kumar said, dedicating her achievement “as a tribute to my mother in heaven.”
Another graduate, Viliame Naqesa Tawanakoro, left Vodafone Arena with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Journalism and a clear sense of purpose. “Studying here taught me more than just what is in the books — it taught me about our Pacific people, our stories and the power of our Pacific identity,” Tawanakoro said. He told the gathering he aims to “use what I’ve learned to tell stories that matter, especially those that give a voice to the voiceless in our region,” and described the degree as belonging to “everyone who believed in me along the way.”
The ceremony closed with a cultural tribute by Pasefika Voices dedicated to “the enduring cultural bonds between the Royal House of Tonga and the chiefly House of Bau,” performed in remembrance of the late Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. USP highlighted that the April graduations reaffirm the university’s role as the Pacific’s premier tertiary institution, noting the new cohort joins a network of more than 60,000 USP alumni across the region.
USP’s graduation calendar will now move beyond Fiji: the university said the next ceremonies are scheduled at the Emalus Campus in Vanuatu and the Samoa Campus, underscoring its regional reach and continuing tradition of holding campus graduations across member states. For this year, the institution’s 2,026 graduates represent fields from law and social sciences to sustainable futures and the arts, reflecting the university’s cross‑disciplinary emphasis on Pacific leadership and service.
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