Interview with Modupe Sodeyi

Modupe Sodeyi’s educational and professional journey has not by any means been an easy one. However, through the process, Modupe, who is Nigerian born, says that she has learnt that “life may not always take the ideal course you planned, but once you set a goal, you must pursue it until it is fulfilled.”

Born to a Nigerian father and a Barbadian mother, Modupe and her family migrated to Barbados when she was seven years old. After leaving the Alexandra School in 1996, Modupe hoped to pursue a career in Law, and she subsequently attended the Barbados Community College where she studied History and Law. Naturally, Modupe applied for a placement in the Law programme at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus but was disappointed when she found out that she was not accepted and would have to study History instead – at least for her first year.

She did not allow this minor setback to faze her. On completing her UWI education, she applied to the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom (UK) and was elated when she found out that she was accepted to the Criminal Justice Studies Masters programme, since it was an area of the legal field that she was very interested in. Modupe’s passion for Criminal Justice, particularly juvenile delinquency stemmed out of her heavy involvement in youth organizations and her curiosity about the negative behavior of some of our young people. “I have been involved in a lot of youth organizations and I observed what was happening with young people. I became curious about why some of them were getting involved in delinquent behavior and, more so, what was being done to assist them.”

With acceptance letter in hand, Modupe realized that she would have to secure a student loan in order to make the trip. This is when she approached the Student Revolving Loan Fund (SRLF). Modupe found that the SRLF was much easier to access than other loan options. However, she advises future SRLF beneficiaries to ensure that they are fully aware of what the repayment process entails and to start repaying the loan as soon as possible. “If you are able to start repaying the loan when you have finished your studies without taking the one year grace period, you should do that,” she said, explaining that this helps to shorten the loan repayment time.

While Modupe was elated to be accepted for the Criminal Justice Studies Masters programme at the University of Leeds, she did not initially respond well to her new environment. “My first impression of Leeds was that it was cold and miserable. I was ready to go back home.” Thankfully, quite by accident, Modupe soon discovered that a close friend from Barbados was attending another university only a short distance away. They soon made contact and Modupe quickly made friends along the way.

Modupe currently works at the Task Force for Crime Prevention where she helps to formulate crime prevention programmes. She is still very passionate about the area of criminal justice and is interested in perhaps working internationally or pursuing a law career. Additionally, she would love to be instrumental in developing a criminal justice governmental portfolio in Barbados when that time comes.