Diary of a fresher: First week of school.

First days of school are always exciting and fun and highly anticipated.

However, except for the highly anticipated part, my first day of university was nothing like my previous 'first days'. I felt tiny and out of place in this new world. I cannot forget to mention that I got lost more than twice and felt really bad.

I was more than happy to return to my dorm room and re think my strategy for the next day. I made a conscious effort to look up all my classes on the visual tour online and boy did that help. Should have done it from the beginning!

On a happier note, I really enjoyed my first day of Writing for Journalism. I can tell the class will be a lot of hard work but also fun, especially since it only has 20 people compared to my other classes. More about that later.

The class was basically a meet and greet and I found out I was the only Bajan in my class..W.O.W. Nonetheless, it will be a good semester.

Now back to my other classes. Those foundation classes are HUGE!. I could not believe it when more than 200 students strolled into the lecture theatre for English. What a culture shock I received!

I was accustomed to classes of 20 or 25 the most back in Barbados. However like everything else at university, it will take a while to get accustomed to. The rest of the week went by pretty quickly and all in a blur.

Thankfully it is over and I got a feel of the university. I spent the weekend rebooting and I am now ready for the second week. It will be tough but God will see me through. I am now on a quest to be the best!

UWI and UTech combine for joint champs

Photo credit: Norman Grindley/Jamaica Gleaner

Now this is what you call a good idea whose time has come.

Jamaica (and the Caribbean's) two biggest universities, University of the West Indies, Mona and the University of Technology, are getting together for a joint sports championship series.

The event, the UWI-UTech Sports Championship, is set for September 18th at the Mona campus. Athletes from the two tertiary institutions will compete in Twenty20 cricket, women's volleyball, men's basketball, fastnet netball and men's football.

UTech's director of sports, the visionary Anthony Davis, explained that the aim of the joint meet was to lay the foundation for a genuinely competitive intercollegiate system that would induce student athletes to stay in tertiary education.

"We have a very elaborate high school system but over the years when they (students) graduate, a lot of them will stop playing sports and a minuscule number will get scholarships to go overseas. If we are to continue maintaining the level of success that we are experiencing now in track and field and football, or even cricket, we must have a developed collegiate system, which is the natural step after high school for persons to come into the collegiate system,"

Davis told the Gleaner at the launch.

As far as CSL is concerned, this is a brilliant move. As Davis rightly pointed out, not every talented athlete is going to get an athletics scholarship in the States, especially when  you consider they are competing against thousands of other athletes in the US and from around the world. Which means that hundreds of talented kids - Carifta gold medal winners, genuinely promising athletes, fall through the cracks.

So kudos to UWI and UTech for this initiative - may it go from strength to strength.

Mexican Government Scholarship 2011

Worth: Enrollment and tuition fees, books, transportation from Mexico City to the University on commencement and completion of the programme, medical insurance, allowance of US$543 for master’s programmes and US $678 for doctoral programmes.


Offering Organisation: Government of Mexico

Requirements: Scholarships are available for specialisation, postgraduate degrees or research, post doctoral stays, artistic creation residences, high level conferences, residences for Mexicanists researchers, residences for media collaborators and special chairs for visiting professors.

Scholarships are not open to residents of Mexico, foreign diplomats recognised in Mexico or their relatives or individuals holding dual citizenship [of Mexico] by naturalisation.

Contact: Your Ministry of Education or check http://becassre.gob.mx

More info: http://becassre.gob.mx

Deadline: September 17

Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan – United Kingdom Award 2011

Worth: Tuition and examination fees, return airfare to the United Kingdom, thesis grant, initial arrival allowance, grant for expenses for approved travel, fieldwork costs. For scholars on three (3) year awards, a paid mid-term fare to their home country.


Allowances at the following rates:

Personal maintenance allowance - £ 828 per month or £1024 per month for those studying in the London Metropolitan area

For married scholars, a marriage allowance of £220 per month provided they live with their spouse

Child allowance of £136 per month for the first and £106 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, provided they live with parent/scholar.

Offering Organisation: Government of the United Kingdom

Requirements: Scholarships are available for one year taught master’s degrees, six months of clinical training in Medicine or Dentistry, three year doctoral degree or 12 months’ non-degree study on a split-site basis to aid the completion of a doctoral degree undertaken at a university in the candidate’s home country.

Applicants must be Commonwealth citizens, hold a first degree with at least upper second class honours or a second class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification, which would normally be a Master’s degree.

Contact: Your Ministry of Education.

More info: For application forms, check http://www.cscuk.org.uk/apply/developingcommonwealthscholarships.asp

Deadline: October 8

Fulbright Nexus Scholarship

Worth: Travel and research funding in the amount of $30,000 USD. Accommodations and meals for program seminar meetings, limited accident and sickness benefits.


Offering Organisation: Government of the United States

Requirements: Applicants should have a Ph.D. or equivalent professional/terminal degree. Candidates with a master’s degree are required to have a minimum of five years research experience. Preference will be given to early or mid-career academics, applied researchers and/or practitioners with research experience in the public, non-profit, or private sector. Preference will be given to applicants without recent U.S. experience.

Contact: The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy for your country or check https://apply.embark.com/student/fulbright/scholars/30/  for application forms and details.

More info: http://www.cies.org/nexus/

Deadline: November 15

Diary of a fresher: The Cross Over.

Photo credit: Queen B

University isn't all about the books. Had I known this before coming to the University of the West Indies Mona campus, I would have been better off.

It is all about a whole new world out there, and if you are on hall, then you have no choice but to shape up and adapt. Orientation to the hall was probably one of the hardest things ever, but at last night's Cross Over it was great.

After two weeks of being called a "pilgrim" and being made to do ridiculous stuff, we were given our final challenge on a quest to move on from being a fresher. I will not fool you and say it was easy, because it wasn't - it was one of the hardest things ever!

However it taught you many things that will essential in the university life. One that stuck with me and will forever is TEAM WORK. Working together is the best way to get the job done. There is no "I" in team, and the sooner we realize that the better it will be.

Now back to the Cross Over. It was a very tiring process, and especially trying to do it on a sprained ankle like me. Eventually at 5 a.m we were finally allowed to cross over!

BUT we are only REX's until our official ceremony next Sunday. What a feeling! However getting through that tedious process ensured that many of us slept until well into the evening on Sunday, hence the reason for this late post.

However, forgetting all things in the past and moving on because it is looks as though these three years at UWI will be the best ever. And as Obama said, "You cannot go forward looking back," so with eyes front, we are moving ahead. Looking forward to school in a few hours.

Until next time, i'm out!

Queen B!

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