A total of 224 students graduated from the University of the South Pacific Samoa Campus on Friday during a ceremony held at the Samoa Football Apia Park Complex.
The graduating class included 161 women and 63 men, who received certificates, diplomas and degrees across different fields of study.
The ceremony was held under the theme O le Taualuga, drawing from the Samoan cultural performance often reserved for the closing part of a celebration.
USP Chancellor, His Majesty King Tupou VI, King of Tonga, conferred the awards during the ceremony.
Speaking on behalf of the graduates, Afioga Faamoetauloa Faasavalu Ah Siu Lin connected the theme of the day to the families and supporters who helped carry students through their studies.
“A taualuga is the final act of a Samoan celebration. Today, we will not only perform it as the final act of this journey, but we will perform it in dedication to our families and everyone who stood with us, who believed in us, and who never once doubted our abilities. Faafetai i lo tou titi faitama. Faafetai i lo tou alofa. Faafetai i lo tou faamalosi au,” he said.
Afioga Faamoetauloa, who completed his Bachelor of Laws, was also recognised with the Telefoni Memorial Prize for Top Samoa Law Student.
The Samoa Institute of Accountants congratulated him after the ceremony, describing him as its treasurer and one of its own.
Another graduate recognised during the ceremony was Trinity Gabriel Papaata, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science.
She received awards for the most outstanding graduate with a major in Biology and the most outstanding graduate with a major in Chemistry.
In a graduand testimonial shared by USP Samoa Campus, Trinity spoke about leaving home to study in Fiji, facing health challenges, and learning to continue even when her study journey did not go according to plan.
“Life is not a race,” she said in the testimonial.
She also said the delays and setbacks she faced became part of a journey that strengthened her faith and helped shape her as a person.
Trinity is now back in Samoa with her family and working locally while continuing to pursue her goals.
The ceremony also carried stories from students who had taken different paths to reach graduation.
Among them was Kheiligni Pelenatino Keilini, a proud son of Patamea, Samalaeulu and Siʻufaga i Savaiʻi, who graduated from the Foundation Science programme.
According to USP Samoa Campus, Kheiligni is now continuing his studies towards a Bachelor of Science, with a double major in Biology and Climate Change.
His message to students from the outer islands, especially Savaiʻi, was to keep going.
“The journey may not always be easy, but keep believing in yourself. If I can do it, so can you,” he said.
The graduation brought together families, lecturers, friends and supporters, with many graduates wearing academic gowns, ula and traditional clothing as they celebrated the end of one academic journey and the beginning of another.
For many graduates, the day reflected more than the completion of a qualification. It also recognised the families, lecturers and communities who helped carry them through years of study, pressure and sacrifice.
The theme O le Taualuga gave the ceremony a fitting close, placing the graduates at the centre of a celebration shared with those who helped them reach the stage.
