 ug s success story ug s success story andydindial tue 1182022 905 first in their family to acquire a university education ug graduands say they are now able to break barriers and work towards improvement of self and country being the first in your family to acquire a university education is quite a proud moment for both the graduate as well as their family as many understand the power of education that is how it can transform lives and contribute to building more prosperous and modern societies it is against this background that the university of guyana takes this opportunity to bring a series shining the spotlight on graduands who will be the first in their families to graduate from ug this first proud group featured below will be among the 2200 graduands who will walk the virtual graduation stage when the university hosts its series of virtual graduation ceremonies beginning february 4  anika jack bachelor of science in medical rehabilitation hailing from the village of stanleytown on the west bank of demerara 21yearold anika jack is graduating with a bachelor s of science degree in medical rehabilitation jack shared that her journey through ug was not an easy one but she is very proud that she stayed the course and could now move on to a career she always wanted in the medical field coming straight from high school i had to transition into the environment and knowing that i had no prior experience in the health field i had to work my way up from that it was hard at first but i met people who have aided in me being here today and for that i am thankful though the challenges were many jack was confident that she would persevere because of her love to work with persons who are recovering and to help them regain their strength to live a normal life according to the young medical professional she feels very proud to be the first in the family to graduate from the university of guyana this is an extremely proud moment for me and i am very thankful for all the opportunities i have been given i will use my skills to help change lives especially to those who are poor and powerless she said jack added that her exposure at ug has benefitted her immensely as she is now more confident and equipped with the skills to serve in the medical profession i am in a better position to improve myself and serve my country she happily noted  rijendra jagroop associate s degree in architecture  for rijendra jagroop his journey through the university of guyana has changed his life in many regards my journey at ug began quite hard because i initially started in 2018 and i found it a bit hard to communicate and network with people and it resulted in me discontinuing the programme and i didn t feel like coming back but i had to and i had to get the job done i had to come back he emphasised that ug has made him become a more confident and motivated individual as he can now relate better with his peers he added that the lecturers and support systems offered by the university have made it easier for him the aspiring engineer will be graduating with an associate s degree in architecture relating that he comes from a farming background jagroop said that he is extremely proud that he is the first in his family to acquire a university education and will forever be grateful for the opportunity as he can now make way for his other siblings to follow the same path my parents only completed their studies at the secondary level they didn t get the opportunity as i did to get a tertiary education i feel very proud that i am breaking barriers and i am creating a pathway for my siblings the proud graduand said jagroop is on a mission to complete his bachelor s degree in architecture and ultimately move on to his master s in urban planning  juneva lynch bachelor s degree in medical imaging  for 23yearold juvena lynch completing her studies at the university of guyana is quite an accomplishment an emotional lynch related that she lost her mom when she was only three years old adding that her mom would have been extremely proud of her academic accomplishment after finishing high school juneva who hails from agricola had hopes of attending the university of guyana but she had to get a job in order to get finances so she could have supported herself when asked to describe her journey at ug the young medical professional said my overall journey was a great one it was a bit challenging in my first and second years since i went and worked straight out of high school and i had to readapt myself to academics in relation to the programme of study juneva expressed i really enjoyed the programme because it is a very practical and handson course it is a very thorough programme which prepares students well for the working environment  parmesh parsotam bachelor of science in civil engineering 25yearold parmesh parsotam who hails from the essequibo coast expressed elation that he is first in his family to have acquired a university education upon completion of his studies at the essequibo technical institute parsotam explained that he was determined to acquire a university education which would make him better equipped for the working environment he then made a decision to move closer to the university of guyana where he began renting an apartment in industry ecd parsotam who now works with the ministry of home affairs highlighted that he was always fascinated with construction and knew that he had to pursue studies in that area my father is into that type of work and i always had a passion for construction i always find myself having an interest in it going to high school i was kind of confused as to what i wanted to become but i was advised by my mother who noticed i had a feel for it so i decided to pursue a career in civil engineering parsotam thanked his parents for the sacrifices they made for him to attend the university of guyana when it comes to my family in terms of academics my mother and father didn t pursue it due to other challenges they did not get the chance they always told me that i got the opportunity and support to go ahead i feel accomplished i feel happy that i could have fulfilled their wishes because they made a lot of sacrifices in terms of sending me here and i also felt very happy to set an example for my smaller brother so that he could follow the path of a professional career said the young engineer like the march 2021 convocation events this year will be even more special since the university administration is consistently underscoring that the great resilience displayed by students to complete their degrees in very difficult circumstances of covid19 deserves to be richly applauded and celebrated a record number of attendees are expected this year since due to the online nature of the event there will be no limit to the number of invitees who can join the proceedings the graduation dates are as follows friday february 4 2022 faculty of agriculture and forestry faculty of engineering and technology school of entrepreneurship business innovation saturday february 5 2022 college of medical sciences behavioural sciences research faculty of natural sciences friday february 11 2022 faculty of social sciences saturday february 12 2022 faculty of earth and environmental sciences faculty of education and humanities institute of distance and continuing education degree and diploma programmes only members of the public can celebrate graduands and view this year s ceremonies on the university of guyana s facebook page uniofguyana    ug in brief the university of guyana is the 58thyear state university of guyana it offers 136 programmes in over 60 disciplines online and facetoface in 8 campuses across guyana with a student population of now 10000 ug has provided education learning and research for over 50000 alumni the mission of the university is to discover generate disseminate and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community the nation and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical inquiry ug s forwardthinking blueprint 2040 is currently setting the course for the university s future design and institutional response to the changing needs of guyana contact ms krest cummings public relations officer department of events conferences and communications decc 5926235104 ug s success story  