On Monday, October 26, 2026, the auditorium of Royalton St. Lucia Resort & Spa in Gros Islet played host to Monroe University’s landmark annual commencement, a cross-border celebration that recognized 318 graduating students drawn from 16 nations across the Caribbean, North America and beyond. Nearly 30 of these honorees hailed from Dominica, marking a notable representation of the Eastern Caribbean island nation’s academic talent within the 2026 cohort.
The joyful, formal gathering drew a wide cross-section of stakeholders: graduating scholars from St. Lucia and neighboring Caribbean territories, the university’s leadership team, teaching faculty, proud family members of graduates, and a roster of high-profile invited dignitaries. Per an official university press release, Monroe University President Marc Jerome joined senior administrative colleagues to personally congratulate the graduating class on their hard-won academic milestones. Following the full formal proceedings, Jerome arranged a dedicated commemorative group photo session exclusively for the cohort of Dominican graduates to mark their collective achievement.
Dominican representation stood out during the ceremony’s opening procession, where Merissa Gabory, an Accounting graduate who earned the institution’s highest summa cum laude academic distinction, marched proudly bearing Dominica’s national flag. She was one of 16 student flag bearers representing every nation included in the diverse 2026 graduating cohort, which counted scholars from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Nigeria, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica and the United States.
The ceremony’s formal proceedings were guided by a team of longstanding university community members: Professor Antonia Laurent-Goodman served as Grand Marshal leading the academic procession, while General Education faculty member Nathalie Jolie-Fanis took on the role of master of ceremonies. Linda Berthier delivered a stirring rendition of St. Lucia’s national anthem, and graduating student Rohan Bennett performed the national anthem of the United States, the country where Monroe University was first established.
Opening remarks welcoming the new cohort of alumni were delivered by President Marc Jerome and Senior Vice President Dr. Alex Ephrem, followed by an official congratulatory address from Kenson Casimir, St. Lucia’s Minister for Education, Youth Development, Sports and Digital Transformation, speaking on behalf of the island’s national government. The event’s keynote address was delivered by Dr. Damian Eisenghower Greaves, a respected Caribbean scholar and public health specialist whose multi-faceted career spans the fields of education, public sector governance, healthcare administration and regional cultural development.
Formal academic announcements were led by Dr. Ernest Ottley, Dean of Academics at the St. Lucia campus, who revealed the recipients of the year’s distinguished academic awards, before Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Jacinth Coultman formally presented the full graduating class for the official conferral of their degrees.
The event’s guest of honor list included prominent regional and international figures: St. Lucia Governor General Felix Finistere and his wife Lady Selma Finistere, Venezuelan Ambassador Lieff Escalona, Moroccan Deputy Head of Mission Dina Melehi, and Sir Arthur Lewis Community College Principal Dr. Winston Phulgence. Monsignor Patrick “Paba” Anthony opened the formal proceedings with an invocation.
Founded in New York in 1933, Monroe University has built its reputation on a core institutional mission of expanding accessible, affordable higher education that prioritizes tangible student career advancement. Its St. Lucia campus, situated along the Vide Boutielle Highway in Castries, delivers accredited undergraduate and graduate programs spanning business administration, accounting, healthcare studies, criminal justice, hospitality management and information technology. The university has also forged a formal partnership with the St. Lucian national government to deliver specialized hospitality industry training programs, designed to equip local residents with the practical skills required to secure stable, well-paying roles in the island’s thriving hotel, restaurant and cruise tourism sectors.
Nearly 30 Dominicans among 318 graduates at Monroe University’s St Lucia commencement
