It Worked for Me! A Learning Experience for Nnaka
Nnaka Forde is a successful graduate of the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine. For her, the Student Revolving Loan Fund (SRLF) has played an essential role in her achievements. She commends the Government of Barbados for this student loan initiative, which she believes is very beneficial for Barbadian students studying both in Barbados and internationally.
Studying, particularly at the tertiary level, is expensive and for many young people in Barbados the desire to travel abroad to pursue their chosen career is often cut short of becoming a reality because their parents are unable to provide them with the necessary financial support.
Nnaka Forde was one of those students. At the young age of eighteen, fresh out of secondary school and holding her acceptance letter to study land surveying at the UWI, St. Augustine, Nnaka found that while her parents were willing to assist her she had to secure a loan to cover the majority of her studying expenses.
When she heard about the student loan services offered by the SRLF, she decided that this avenue was the best option and has never regretted her decision. The jovial Queen's College alumna explained, "I heard about the Student Revolving Loan Fund from persons who had used the service. I thought that the interest rate and the fact that the fund gave a grace period after the completion of studies to start repaying the loan was the best option for me at the time. "
Once the loan was approved, Nnaka, who never left her parents' home before, boarded the plane to Trinidad to start her learning adventure, and what an adventure it was! Nnaka described her three years at university as an experience of personal growth. Beyond the lessons in being responsible for herself and her own academic success, Nnaka had to learn to adjust to a different culture and to interact with persons who did not share her outlook on life. "I realised that what I was accustomed to at home was not the same for other people. So I had to learn to interact with persons at different levels - dorm mates, lecturers and others", she said.
While Nnaka found that, as neighbouring Caribbean islands, Trinidad and Barbados were not extremely different culturally, she explained that the difference in the value of the Trinidad dollar allowed her to live comfortably on a student's budget. However, she realised that this too was a lesson in being responsible since she had to learn to budget for each semester.
Nnaka, now 30-years-old, had a lot of advice to share with students who were considering studying away from home. She acknowledged that extracurricular activities were a part of the experience since personal development and growth are a part of the entire package. While she encouraged students to get involved, she cautioned them to remain level-headed and try not to lose track of the main reason for the experience. "Remember to maintain your focus and not get lost in the excitement of campus activities and other distractions", she counselled. Nnaka worked in the land surveying industry for four years after she returned from St. Augustine in 2001, and has been a tutor of land surveying at the Barbados Community College (BCC) for the last three years.
While initially, Chemical Engineering was her programme of choice and fate kind of nudged her in a different direction, Nnaka says that she has absolutely no regrets about her career choice and thoroughly enjoys the time she spends with her students. "It is wonderful. I love it! " she exclaimed, "I especially enjoy interacting with my students. While teaching is a lot of hard work, seeing my students progress and succeed is extremely rewarding. "
Nnaka is enjoying her experience teaching, however she does not plan to give up completely on a career in Chemical Engineering, with hopes of pursuing studies in the field sometime in the future.