Daughter follows mom in copping Governor General’s Achievement Award

WESTERN BUREAU:

IT IS not an everyday achievement for parents and children to receive the same recognition for excellence and the level of social and community work that they have done over their lifetime.

However, Andria Dehaney-Grant, principal of Maryland All-Age School and her daughter, Tiana Dinham, now a student at the University of North Carolina (UNC), in the United States, both of Maryland, Hanover, have achieved a unique accolade.

After years of dedication to community upliftment through various approaches and initiatives, the efforts and work of Dehaney-Grant were finally recognised, and she was awarded the Governor General’s Achievement Award for Excellence in Leadership, in the over 35 years category, in the parish of Hanover, in 2021. This year, that award is being bestowed on Dinham.

“Dehaney-Grant has devoted much of her life in service to the communities and people of Hanover. This service has spanned various activities, ranging from teaching to sport, youth development, and agriculture. She is also an innovator with an eye on the future as she has advocated and led initiatives to promote the use of solar power and water-harvesting techniques in the parish,” the award plaque presented to Dehaney-Grant read in part.

Her many academic and other achievements were also outlined on the plaque, along with several of the community initiatives that she pioneered and played a part in.

In an interview with The Gleaner, Dehaney-Grant said she was both surprised and ecstatic when she was notified about plans to recognise her with the Governor General’s Achievement Award in 2021 as such an award was never on her mind.

“I must say that I have always been doing a lot of community work from a very tender age, but for me it was never about anyone giving recognition. It was always about that inner feeling and inner joy that I get when I do the work,” she stated.

“I felt honoured to be nominated because then it showed me that my community members, among other persons, were observing the amount of work that I was doing and thought it necessary for recognition,” she noted.

GET INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY WORK

Dehaney-Grant argued that the level of community social work that is necessary to build communities across the country is at a low ebb at this point in time and went on to issue an appeal for more persons to get involved in community work.

“No government alone can achieve total community upliftment without the support of members of the respective communities who can afford to give back,” she said.

Citing her community of Maryland in Hanover, she highlighted examples of it experiencing a high level of volunteerism which has resulted in several areas of benefit to the community.

Fast-forward to 2023, and the notification came out that Dinham, a straight ‘A’ student and ardent community volunteer and leader in all her undertakings, will be awarded the Governor General’s Achievement Award for Excellence in the 18-24 age group.

Dinham now resides abroad as she is currently studying at UNC.

“Miss Tiana Dinham, from Maryland, Hanover, is a beacon of leadership, academic excellence, and community engagement,” the Governor General’s Achievement Award plaque read.

While outlining her string of academic achievements, the words on the plaque stated: “In her community, Tiana achieved a significant milestone by securing funds for a marching band, providing 23 musical instruments for local youth, thus creating a positive outlet for her community’s young people.

“This initiative was a part of her continued service as a member of several local clubs and committees, where she played an active role in cultural development and community upliftment,” it continued.

It also pointed out that Dinham’s academic prowess has led to her acceptance into 11 renowned universities across the United States, Canada, and China, yielding over US$2 million in scholarships, from which she chose to attend UNC.

“It (winning the GGA award) is such an incredible accomplishment for me. I never expected to be the Governor General’s Award recipient when I was doing the stuff that I was doing. I did it out of, like, pure belief in what I was doing. I believe that the work that I was doing was going to be beneficial to not only myself, but also to other young people in my community, my high school, and at UNC, where I am now attending school,” Dinham told The Gleaner.

She insisted that all the community work and leadership roles that she embarked on over the years was not done with any accolades in mind, but instead because she saw the value in what she was doing.

“But being recognised for my work is mind blowing because for me, it was just a simple thing. But apparently, it is an accomplishment,” she stated.

She argued that the fact that her mother is a recipient of the award and that she is now a recipient only demonstrates the manner in which she was brought up, noting that she considered it an amazing feat for both her mother and her to have been so awarded.

“She taught me the importance of hard work and having a good commitment to nation-building and to community development,” Dinham shared. “She also taught me the importance of working towards a common goal in a collective community even as you strive towards your personal development.”