Thu | Nov 7, 2024

Dr Joy Spence: A passion for giving back to young scientists

Published:Saturday | September 10, 2022 | 12:05 AM
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Upper-sixth-form students at Mona High School Joel Haughton (left ) and Romero Brown (second left) look on as Dr Joy Spence (right), master blender at J. Wray & Nephew, and Michelle Jones (second right), head of the school’s department of sports and scie
Contributed
Upper-sixth-form students at Mona High School Joel Haughton (left ) and Romero Brown (second left) look on as Dr Joy Spence (right), master blender at J. Wray & Nephew, and Michelle Jones (second right), head of the school’s department of sports and science, demonstrate the use of tools donated by Dr Spence to the chemistry laboratory at the school. Looking on is Rohan Marshall, vice-principal of academic affairs at Mona High School.
J Wray & Nephew Master Blender Dr Joy Spence (front row, third left) presents a $1.5m symbolic cheque to the Chemistry Department at UWI, Mona. From left are: Dr Donna Minott Kates, head of the Chemistry Department, UWI Mona; with colleagues Dr Marvadebe
Contributed
J Wray & Nephew Master Blender Dr Joy Spence (front row, third left) presents a $1.5m symbolic cheque to the Chemistry Department at UWI, Mona. From left are: Dr Donna Minott Kates, head of the Chemistry Department, UWI Mona; with colleagues Dr Marvadebe Singh Wilmot, lecturer and academic dean for student experience; Dr Robin Rattray; Dr Novelette Sadley McKnight; Professor Emeritus Robert Lancashire and Dr Winklet Gallimore.
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Dr Joy Spence, master blender at J. Wray & Nephew Limited, is going back to her roots, and her first love, by donating over $4 million to the chemistry departments of seven institutions across the island. Students from Mona, Dinthill Technical, Denbigh and Edwin Allen schools; College of Agriculture, Science & Education (CASE); Montego Bay Community College and The University of the West Indies, (UWI) Mona, will start the new school year with brand new chemistry equipment.

Dr Spence, who began her career as a chemistry teacher, has always supported the sciences through her mentorship of young scientists and her donations to the J. Wray & Nephew Foundation, which goes directly to students studying chemistry. In recognising the challenges faced by teachers and students in the delivery of the science curriculum, she decided to donate to those non-traditional high schools which have managed to rise above these challenges and deliver excellence. On Monday, August 22, Dr Spence handed over poster-style periodic tables branded with the words ‘Chemistry is Life’- words that have guided her life and career - to students. “As a chemistry graduate, I especially wanted to assist chemistry students at the non-traditional schools, as well as at the tertiary level, to develop their talents in that discipline, so they can take their places in the field internationally,” Dr Spence noted.

The donations to the schools will include hundreds of burettes, volumetric pipettes, beakers, Bunsen burners, safety goggles, measuring cylinders, test tubes and test tube holders. Mona High School will benefit from a $1.1m facelift, which will include a repainted science lab, new stools, cabinets to secure chemicals, a new counter and train board for the lab technician’s room. Dinthill Technical, Denbigh and Edwin Allen schools, as well as CASE and the Montego Bay Community College, will receive donations of chemistry lab kits valued at $220,000 each. The chemistry lab at the UWI will receive $ 1.5million towards the purchase of an electronic analytical balance, a much-needed tool for chemical experiments.

“As a student, the Chemistry Department of the UWI played a major role in my decision to become a chemist. Forty ears later, I am the master blender for a global brand, Appleton Estate, and celebrating my wonderful career at J. Wray & Nephew (JWN), which has allowed me to give back to the next generation,” said Dr Spence. The 40 Years of Joy was launched in December 2021 to celebrate Dr Joy Spence’s 40 years with JWN. Spence was gifted $20m to donate to 40 charities of her choice. Dr Spence, who joined JWN as chief chemist in 1981 and rose through the ranks to become the industry’s first female master blender in 1997, was recently named one of Jamaica’s tourism brand ambassadors by Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett.