Honor students celebrated in Gov't House awards ceremony

ST. CROIX — Over a dozen of the territory’s Class of 2022 honor students, including valedictorians and salutatorians, were recognized for their achievements during Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.’s Academic Achievement Award Ceremony held in St. Croix’s opulent Government House ballroom on Wednesday.

The wide smiles of the honorees and their guests reflected from the trove of mirrored pillars that lined the walls where they were seated at tables lavishly decorated in black satin and finished with cutlery sets casted atop ivory, linen napkins.

Bryan spoke to the recent graduates, among them individuals who took up adult education and vocational studies, and shared why the ceremony was important to him, adding that the invitation into Government House was an extension of recognition for their success. He noted that by being recognized he hopes others in the territory are inspired to push for greater achievement.

“When you recognize anything, people pay attention. Why?” Bryan asked rhetorically before responding that “people want to be recognized.”

Addressing the parents, Bryan said when they look at their children they might recall how babies love three things: remote controls, car keys, and cellphones. He attributes the love of those objects to value as parents are always either on their phones, looking for the keys, or with a remote in hand.

“We need to start to value other things the way we do because they are always watching. “Our goal is to make sure you know we value education,” Bryan said in reference to himself and Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach.

However, it wasn’t just education that the governor championed, but talent.

He said it is talent that “makes us human” and “talent cannot be replicated.”

When reflecting on the notion, Bryan said he thinks about all the potential lost in the territory — all the talented individuals that through circumstance were never able to achieve the measure of success possible for them.

“I always think about the ones that didn’t make it. The kid that got [killed], or maybe ended up in jail, or maybe got pregnant and couldn’t continue school,” he said. “What was the potential of those students.”

To celebrate both the potential and achieved success of the graduates, each were given a Samsung Galaxy Tablet from the Office of the Governor. Later, they indulged in a decadent luncheon.