From Sacrifice to Success: UB Grads Prepare for a World of Possibilities

20^th May 2026

Nassau, THE BAHAMAS – They arrived for different reasons and with different dreams: a wife racing from work to hospital rotations while still raising children; a young woman who came from the other side of the world, full of hope and ambition; brothers on a mission to find peace and joy; and a student-athlete who built a future while building a family. These are some of the inspirational stories that make the University of The Bahamas (UB) 2026 Commencement Class stand out.

Some 600 graduates of UB are eligible to cross the stage on Thursday 28^th May when the Spring 2026 Commencement Ceremony is held at the Nassau Cruise Port in downtown Nassau. They will embark on a new chapter when universities around the world are focused on preparing not only skilled professionals, but resilient citizens capable of navigating workforce shortages, economic uncertainty and rapid social change.

UB’s 2026 commencement theme focuses on higher education as a launchpad for leadership, service and civic engagement. Chief Executive Officer of the Nassau & Paradise Island Promotion Board (NPIPB), Joy Jibrilu, will deliver the Commencement Address, expanding on that message and challenging graduates to see the knowledge and skills they have gained as tools to help shape their communities and the wider world.

For instance, the health care sector – the nursing profession especially – is one of many areas that desperately needs more human capital. UB is a pipeline for much-needed talent.

Jayde Lightbourne is one of the graduands earning a Bachelor Science in Nursing (BSN) and hopes to be a bright light in health care. As a UB student, she learned to face adversity with grit and determination.

“I had to navigate home life with kids, work responsibilities, and hospital rotations all at once. Even now, I go to work at 8’ o’clock, leave there to go to the hospital by 2, and get off at 10,” she said. “It was rough, but it is rewarding.”

She credited UB faculty members with preparing her and other nursing students for the realities of a profession that has grown increasingly demanding.

“They did their best to prepare us for the battlefield that is nursing in The Bahamas,” she noted.

For Zulaiha Adebayo, the road to graduation began thousands of miles away in her homeland, Nigeria. She arrived in The Bahamas as an international student uncertain of what she would find, yet hopeful. She discovered a supportive community and many people who helped her along the way – even strangers.

“There was a particular girl who walked me from one bus station to another and helped me get the right bus to where I was going,” she shared. “There were days it got really rough.  At some point you feel like giving up but I never did. Even when it got really tiring, I just had to cry it out sometimes.”

Now, Zulaiha is not only looking forward to formally receiving her BSN degree, but preparing to take the next major step – passing the nursing examination and gaining her full credentials.

Engineering graduand, Angelo Farquharson, and his brother Kirkwood, an architecture major, chose different academic paths and co-curricular interests, but are arriving at the same destination, together – on the verge of being 2026 UB grads.

Angelo said he helped to resuscitate the National Society of Black Engineers club at UB, honing leadership skills that will serve him well as he forges ahead. Faculty members helped him develop other attributes.

“For the professors I’ve had, and one in particular, work must be done on time and professionally done. And there can’t be any, I’m just going to say it ‘slapping up,’” he said. “So because I was exposed to that, it actually made me a better person in terms of my discipline as well as my punctuality.”

His brother, Kirkwood found that sense of purpose in architecture, environmental interests and an unexpected place: underwater.

“The scuba diving and marine-related classes helped me in architecture by teaching me how to navigate certain concepts and approaches,” he noted. “UB helped prepare me by teaching me the level of preparation required for assignments and projects. It showed me what goes into carrying out projects successfully, what to do, and what not to do in certain situations.”

Erquantae Edgecombe, a member of the UB Mingoes basketball team graduating with a Bachelor of Education in Physical Education degree, is grateful for his academic, professional and personal growth. Along his journey, he embraced another major milestone and met his now wife at UB. The couple is expecting a new addition to the family. His advice to current students is to cultivate relationships.

“Network, network. Try to get to know people in your classes, even outside your major. Try to get along with them and ask for advice,” he shared. “You’re not here for a long time, so the time that you are here, use it wisely.”

Each member of the 2026 Commencement Class is in a different path, with individual dreams and goals, but collectively they represent what is possible when a university prioritizes student success and prepares each graduate for a world of opportunities.