The notice that he was being conferred with an honorary doctorate by University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC) came as a surprise to Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

But even as he is looking forward to the ceremony today at the National Arena in St Andrew, Moore, who has Jamaican heritage, said he is humbled by the recognition.

“I think about the role that Jamaica has played in my life, in my journey, in my family. You cannot understand my journey without understanding Jamaica. It really is the fabric that runs all around me, and so the chance to be here and spend time with the graduates, the chance for me, in many ways, to come home, it’s very, very humbling” Moore told the Jamaica Observer in an interview Saturday afternoon at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

In light traffic the hotel is just about 10 minutes drive from the arena where Moore, along with Dr Trisha Bailey, a philanthropist and real estate mogul in the United States who also has Jamaican heritage, will receive the honour.

The university said it will have a record 774 graduands at the commencement ceremony, and it was obvious during Saturday’s interview that Moore is anxious to address them.

“I am going to talk about the importance of history and faith,” he responded when asked to give a preview of his speech.

“For all the graduates, we’re there to celebrate them and their remarkable accomplishments, but [they must know] that challenges will come and people will push back, and the thing that they are always going to have to lean on is their history and their faith, because if you know your history and you know your faith there is no challenge that will come your way that you are not prepared for and that you are not ready to be able to overcome,” Moore said.

“Our history shows that there are always challenges, always complications, there’s always push back, but if you understand our history you also understand that none of that push back has ever stopped us. So I want people to remember their history and their faith,” he added.

Today’s ceremony will be the first commencement over which Professor Haldane Davies will preside since his appointment as UCC president last year.

Davies, in a news release, said that during the ceremony the UCC 2023 Humanitarian Award will be posthumously presented to Lasco Group of companies founder Lascelles Chin, who passed in May.