Graduation day for the Class of 2023 proved a bittersweet ceremony for retiring Bermuda College president Duranda Greene.

“To the thousands of students I had the opportunity to teach and serve over my 38 years here at Bermuda College, thank you for the wonderful memories,” Dr Greene told the 113 students, with 102 Bermuda College graduates and 11 completing the Mount Saint Vincent Bachelors in Business Administration programme.

She told yesterday’s gathering: “Class of 2023, you will always have a special place in my heart, as the class that ended your journey here at Bermuda College during the same time that I did.”

She quoted the US journalist Sydney J. Harris: “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”

Dr Greene, who spent 16 years as president, told the 800-strong gathering: “Continue to seek knowledge and watch how your mirrors turn to larger windows filled with opportunity that will not only change your life but change the lives of others around you.”

Carika Weldon, founder and chief executive of the thriving genomics start-up CariGenetics, gave the commencement address, recalling her journey from a bachelor’s degree 12 years ago and doctorate eight years ago.

She looked back on being told at commencement 12 years ago that the degree she received was not just a piece of paper but “the key in the ignition”.

The biochemist said it took time to learn how to apply academic qualifications.

As a prominent figure in Bermuda’s Covid-19 testing programme, Dr Weldon said her degrees and experience researching at the University of Oxford proved invaluable with the onset of Covid-19.

“I was an RNA scientist when we had a pandemic with an RNA virus.”

Graduating student Jayden Cheeseman told the ceremony: “I am so pleased to be graduating with such talented and amazing people.

“Let us go into the world and truly make a difference.”

Half the Class of 2023 finished their studies with honours, earning either a merit or a distinction.

The Associate of Arts Business Administration programme produced 22 graduates, with 14 of them dual enrolment students who were awarded their associate degree or certificate before receiving their high school graduation certificates next month.