Becoming a teacher as well as a researcher felt like a big transition when I joined The UWI in 2016. Thankfully I had a lot of support along the way.
Firstly from the late Dr Margo Burns, former director of CETL. Her boundless enthusiasm and belief in us as she led us through our University Teaching Certificate, gave me the tools and confidence I needed during that 1st year of teaching and beyond.
Within my Department, I feel incredibly lucky to have benefited from the invaluable mentorship of ecologist Dr Mary Alkins-Koo, just before she retired. Her dedication to teaching and student wellbeing was inspirational & I can only hope to be half as good an educator as her.
I am also very grateful to my cohort of Life Sciences lecturers for being great friends and incredibly supportive colleagues. Sharing knowledge, ideas and experiences from the classroom has been vital.
Of course, the biggest thanks goes to my mum (a primary school teacher) and dad (an artist & art teacher). They taught me not only that learning is important, but also that it can be fun. Something I hope I pass on to my own students, whose feedback has helped me to improve my courses and teaching year on year.
Many thanks to Dr LeRoy Hill & the CETL team for a great awards ceremony! Looking forward to sharing ideas & working with with them alongside fellow recipients Dr Bephyer Pary and Dr Suzanne Burke.
Last but not least, thanks to the inspirational & multi-award winning educator Prof Shirin Haque for persuading me to apply in the first place!
Official Press Release here: https://sta.uwi.edu/news/releases/release.asp?id=22521