Passion for volunteering lands aspiring doctor life-changing scholarship
Published:Friday | October 13, 2023 | 12:05 AMKeisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer
DOWESHA WILLIAMS is a final-year medical student at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Her journey has been good overall, but she will tell you that it has had its challenges, chief among them being access to financial resources towards financing her dream career.
Williams went through a difficult period initially after being accepted at UWI as a medical student in 2018. She missed out on being sponsored, although she had worked hard to meet all the criteria.
DIFFICULT PERIOD
“I had to take a gap year due to issues with sponsorship spaces in the medical programme and that was a difficult period for me. I was distraught, but I had to defer the acceptance. I went to school, and got good grades, and yet I was being held back by things out of my control. I considered switching careers, but medicine was my passion,” she said.
In 2016, she graduated as an outstanding achiever with all 10 subjects in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams. With the goal of being a sponsored medical student, she set about earning ones in all the units she sat in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations, and she did just that, attaining distinctions in the eight subjects pursued.
Williams spoke to her friend and then guidance counsellor at Glenmuir, Althea Francis, who arranged for her to get a job at the Old MacDonald Farm, a food-processing company in Sandy Bay, Clarendon. They hired her to help with accounting.
SPONSORED STUDENT
At the end of her gap year, Williams finally got the call she was expecting, that she was a sponsored student. Still, it was not enough to take care of all the fees. Tuition fees plus residency fees summated to over $1 million per year.
She applied for several scholarships and is the recipient of a few that have assisted her in fulfilling her financial obligations.
Williams who is big on volunteering, hails from the community of Race Course in Vere, Clarendon.
“I love volunteering and helping others especially through tutoring because I strongly believe education is one of the only ways to move up the echelons of the social strata,” Williams said.
It was her spirit of volunteering that saw her being selected as the J. Wray and Nephew Foundation (JWNF) 2022 Master Blender Scholar. To date she has been a four-time awardee, three of which she has been selected as one of their Master Blender Scholars.
“Without the foundation, I definitely would not have made it this far. I encourage young persons who are ambitious and those who have a goal, to just aim for it and make the first step. There are foundations out there willing to assist, once you work hard and stay determined. I live by the words of Napoleon Hill – “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success,” she said.
PASSION FOR VOLUNTEERING
Williams’ passion for volunteering began at Race Course Primary School in Clarendon where she helped other students with homework. This continued during her high school years at Glenmuir where she was very active in service clubs, including Red Cross, Girl’s Guide and Key Club.
This passion also continued when she matriculated to UWI, where she became a surgical society tutor. When the pandemic hit, she realised that many students around her didn’t have access to online school, so she tutored them on her veranda. She is driven by her belief that everyone has social responsibility to their community.
“You have to pray, have faith, work hard and never give up. Develop a plan for your life and do research on how to make it happen. Talk to people who are already in that field and think of how you will finance this dream. When things seem impossible, don’t give up, pray and try again. All things are possible through Christ and determination,” Williams said.
HONOUR ROLL STUDENT
At UWI, Williams is on the Dean’s List for the Faculty of Medical Sciences, as well as an honour roll student on the Elsa Leo-Rhynie Towers Hall. In addition, she is an active member of several clubs and societies, namely, The UWI Surgical Society (tutor for first-year students), the Tower’s Drama Society, and T-Pack Events.
Some days she said are great, while others are challenging. “At times you notice that some days you are doing great and learning new things and some days you are tired because it is an academically challenging degree. Medicine is a long road, and burn-out is real, so in my final year, I am just trying new methods to stay consistent and finish strong. I know it will be worth it in the end,” Williams said.
Currently, she is rotating through the hospitals as a part of her clinical experience. Her ultimate goal is to complete residency in a specialty and open a private practice.
Over the last six years, the JWN Foundation has disbursed scholarships to students within the communities it operates in Kingston, Clarendon, and St Elizabeth in a concerted effort to transform lives and communities for a better Jamaica.
The total number of scholarships awarded by the JWN Foundation from 2016 to 2022 is 2,072 valued at $125,811,826.35. For 2023 the JWN Foundation will be allocating 208 scholarships to its beneficiary communities and employees.