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Having grown up ten minutes walk from campus, and the child of a UWI
lecturer, it was almost inevitable that when I left secondary school
I enrolled immediately at the University of the West Indies,
St. Augustine, Trinidad. I had for some years known that I had an
aptitude for science, and an interest in Biology, so I headed straight
for the
Faculty of Natural Sciences. I also had a strong interest in the sea,
(fostered largely by Jacques Cousteau documentaries), and I
found that the Faculty's Zoology courses allowed for concentration in
marine biology, while providing a good general background.
The General Degree programme ensured that students had a broad introduction to the Natural Sciences, a sound knowledge of the English Language, and a basic understanding of history. At the same time, students were required to select a Major, which would form the bulk of their coursework. Thus of the 88 credits I earned, 56 were from courses in my Major, Zoology. The Class of Honours in the General Degree was determined by consideration of the mean grade in the best 64 credits gained from advanced courses (that is, those from Second and Third Year), including at least 32 credits from the compulsory courses in the selected Major. First Class Honours were awarded to those students achieving an average grade of at least A-. Click here to find out more about the courses I took at UWI.
Having chosen to take courses in subjects of great interest to me, I thoroughly enjoyed my period at UWI. For the same reason my stay was also very successful academically, and I was awarded First Class Honours. In addition to this, I placed first in my Zoology class in First and Second Years, and second in Third Year, and was awarded the Faculty's Open Scholarship at the end of First Year. Zoology courses were all very much based on practical learning (as are all Nat. Sci. courses), and concentrated on lab and field work rather than lectures and tutorials. As such I have excellent knowledge and experience of practical scientific work. Furthermore, I was well known in the Department as a student with a particular eagerness for practical work - I would often take the initiative in organising and leading working groups in both lab and field excercises. This interest in practical work led to my choosing the elective course Zoology Research Project. Under the supervision of the Head of Department, Professor Bacon, I undertook a project on the life habits of a local species of mussel Mytella guyanensis (Lamarck) (Mollusca: Mytilidae), which is found in Caroni Swamp, a major mangrove wetland. The species has the curious habit of building a nest out of its byssal hairs (usually used in forming a strong attachment to a hard surface), and I was able to elucidate the function of the nest in its local habitat. My success enabled me to achieve my first publication in a refereed journal. |