SEVEN hundred and thirty-nine students graduated Sunday from the University College of the Caribbean (UCC), the first batch of graduates since the institution was upgraded to university status in January this year.

The graduates, who were presented with diplomas, associate degrees and degrees on the grounds of the university on Worthington Avenue in Kingston, saw 27 receiving first-class honours.

Keynote speaker Mark Pritchett, managing director of the Observer, implored the graduates to remain steadfast in their quest for a better life.

“The keys to success are in your hands,” Pritchett said. “No one is going to do it for you. You have to do it for yourselves,” Pritchett said.

Of the graduates, 65 successfully completed bachelor of science degrees in human resource management.

Others completed associate degrees in business

studies, management information systems and business administration.

Diplomas were also presented for management studies, computer studies and management, systems analysis and design, accounting and financial management, supervisory management, human resource management, marketing, business administration, public relations and hotel and hospitality management.

Sunday’s graduation ceremony attracted a large crowd who heartily applauded the relatives and associates as they were presented with their certificates.

Musical tributes were offered by the Jamaica Regiment band and the UCC chorale, while Leodis Douglas, the university’s most outstanding student for 2004, gave the valedictory speech.

The UCC was formed from the merger of the Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) and the Institute of Management and Production (IMP).