Blades anticipating cultural exchange studying in Jamaica

Despite their worries about security, the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, freshers who spoke with The Gleaner on Wednesday said they are anticipating a positive first year.

Cherish-Amor Blades, a Barbadian who attended Harrison College and last year participated in a student-exchange programme with Campion College, said that her interest in attending The UWI, Mona, was sparked after participating in a tour of the campus.

“I was just, like, ‘Wait, Mona may be for me’, and then I saw a lot of people from back home that I know and had also attended my school,” she said.

This made her more comfortable in making the decision to enrol in the regional institution as opposed to pursuing previous options to study in Canada.

The 18-year-old, who will be studying international relations, said that while she is not nervous about the journey ahead, she is hopeful that she will be able to effectively balance her personal and academic lives.

Blades explained that she has already experienced some cultural differences while boarding on campus and is expecting that there will be more to some.

“Definitely, [there are differences] in basic things like in the kitchen, like how we do our water back home – we boil our water and then filter it – or like walking outside. I remember a girl was, like, ‘Oh, put on some slippers’, but back home, we don’t wear slippers,” she told The Gleaner.

“For the most part, I love Jamaica, and I just hope that I get to integrate myself as much as possible,” she said.

UNSURE OF WHAT LIES AHEAD

Lauren Lewis, who will be studying biomedical instrumentation, admitted that she struggles with social anxiety, and so she is unsure of what lies ahead as she pursues her degree.

“I’m scared about the switch from high school into college, trying to figure out my own schedule, trying to figure out how I’m going to navigate being an adult because I, myself, am technically a minor,” the 17-year-old said.

“I have a lot of anxiety. So being wrong, being laughed at, [or] people looking down on me because I might not have as much knowledge or I may be seen as someone who rushed through school a bit too fast,” Lewis said of her other concerns about the transition.

Jamaica College old boy Dameion Rose told The Gleaner that he plans to embrace the new experience in a manner akin to how he carried himself stepping into sixth form, even if university life will be “a bit different”.

Campus Registrar Donovan Stanberry said there has been a real sense of excitement and buzz across the campus as students return full force in face-to-face teaching interactions.

“We are very, very happy for that because let’s face it, the UWI, Mona, is not an online university ... and separate and apart from the teaching experience, the interactions with your peers, the extracurricular activities, those also form a critical part of the learning experience that helps to build character and helps to prepare our students for the world of work. So something was always missing when you don’t have that complement and I’m happy to say that we are back to that,” he said.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com