'I am proud of myself' NCU graduate overcomes pregnancy ordeal

Richard Bryan, Gleaner Writer

MANDEVILLE, Manchester: ALL 918 recent graduates at Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville beamed, most punctuating the moment they collected the blue miniature folder holding their degrees by giving a thumps up. Still a precious few oozed tears of joy as their family members clapped. They all have their stories of triumph, but few became as emotional as home-economics education major Leisha Grandison.

While a radiant Grandison posed for her photos, in one hand was the degree she had earned, and in the other, a 15-month-old child - Sanecia - that had helped to prolong an expensive stay of close to six years (when summers are calculated) to complete her degree. A smiling Sanecia, seemed oblivious to her mom's testimony during the entire interview, but the faces of Leisha's parents Delphene and Devon - both in their 60s, told a story of their own.

In January 2005 when, as a teenager, the former Black River High student had arrived on campus fresh out of the HEART Academy in Runaway Bay, St Ann, she had envisioned staying only four years. She would face her first setback when she lost time on that timetable, and was forced to work for a semester at the eatery there to help her parents put together the first term's costs. The pressure became no easier on the Grandisons when the following year, younger sister Devena, also a graduate of Black River High, signed up to pursue a degree in business administration.

It has been a really tough sojourn and she said it herself.

"It was really rough, especially when in my senior year, last year, when I got pregnant and had to live through the ordeal with all eyes on me."

It was mere months before her scheduled graduation. Such an experience is not uncommon of many women who enrol in institutions of higher learning. However, Leisha was at pains to point out that hers required more than the usual survival mode. After all, she was deemed a Christian, and here she was at a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) institution still rooted in its Adventist traditions - for example a no-jewellery rule, mandatory religious general courses for all students and strict chapel attendance.

To become pregnant while being unmarried, and especially while pursuing education, considered one of the institution's more revered programmes, was a gross public sin.

It did not help her cause financially, she explains, since the unfortunate experience, as it seemed then, manifested itself during the period of teaching practicum, considerd the most crucial course for all education majors. There was an added dilemma, as that term represented the last before her student loan disbursements would end.

frustration

Frankly, in the circumstances, most would have been too embarrassed to continue, in addition to being encumbered with the frustration of having to sit out a full year of study, as the current institution's rules allow for those so caught.

Initially, her biggest challenge was a decision not to abort, and to inform her parents, who were at the time, both elders in their SDA church in South St Elizabeth.

"Just to tell my parents was the roughest part as I know it was the worse news they could hear and I wasn't sure they could live with it, given the way they grew me and how the community folks would react. At one point, I was more concerned about how they would feel," Grandison recounted.

She said she could have saved herself that trouble had she aborted the child, but simply could not live with the personal implications. While she admits to not being a "traditional adventist", her groundings in the faith remain strong, and hence her views on abortion.

"I thought about it (abortion) and I felt from a moral standpoint it was wrong. But I also thought about having to possibly live with the emotional scars later in life and the fact that I may well be destroying a future chance of having a child," Grandison related.

Shaken by the whole experience, she admits: "I literally lost my hair with all the stress of sitting out and learning how to take care of a baby I had not planned for, but at no time I lost interest in pursuing higher studies, and I was very determined to come back and finish."

She has a special message for females.

"Now is the time (summer/holiday) that a lot of girls get pregnant but I want to encourage them not to become disillusioned. You can fail but you can still continue; however, the plan must be not to remain a dropout," said Grandison. "A lot of people who were cussing me are now going wild over Sanecia. I am proud of myself that I was able to sit out, finish and graduate."

And as for the part her parents played, she says incalculable.

"They were crushed but at all time their focus was to help me finish. I will never be able to fully repay them."