Crystol Caesar Success Story - Division of Education, Research and Technology

DIVISION OF EDUCATION, SKILLS AND INNOVATION

WRITTEN TESTIMONIAL

Crystol F. Caesar

Meteorologist

BSc. Meteorology

My name is Crystol Fayola Caesar of Signal Hill, Tobago and I first got interested in the field of Meteorology as a child. I would lay for hours in the yard looking at the clouds envisioning different cloud shapes but mainly wondering how they came to be. I attended Signal Hill Secondary Comprehensive School from September 2004 up till May 2012 where I pursued Pure Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Geography, and languages. Languages are advantageous to a meteorologist because weather is not confined to the boundaries of our twin-island republic and as such you never know where in the world you can end up.

In August 2013, I journeyed to the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill campus in Barbados to begin reading for the Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology. Prior to leaving for Barbados I had applied to the Department of Advanced Training and Advisory Services (DATAS) for financial assistance and in October of that year I received confirmation that I had been selected for the scholarship. This was elating news because my family and I quickly realized that Barbados is not cheap. In addition to funding from DATAS, I also received a loan through the Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP). As the Tobago saying goes, “One one cocoa does full basket!” and I needed all the help (pun intended) I could get.

Living and studying in Barbados was challenging because on one hand as was mentioned before, it is a very expensive country and on the other hand being away from family for long periods of time proved a challenge as well. In my second year I believe, the banks stopped issuing travellers’ cheques with the alternative being Prepaid MasterCard/credit cards.

There was this one unfortunate time I had forgot to inform the bank that I was proceeding back to school and upon using the card in Barbados, it was blocked for fraud. I can laugh now looking back on it but being in a foreign country with limited funds is “pressure”. My family, landlady Ms. Rose, Mrs. Angela Edghill, a family friend and Barbadian national, as well as other Tobagonians all assisted me to overcome such challenges and press forward. I would like to make special mention of Ms. Petronella Neptune (deceased) at DATAS who was my officer for the majority of my university career and who always provided words of encouragement during the times I would go in to collect a cheque or even via email.

I graduated in October 2018 with a BSc Meteorology with a minor in Environmental Science but my journey did not stop there as I once again returned to Barbados to complete a professional development course namely the Operational Aeronautical Forecasters’ Course (OAFC) in May 2019. In short, this course enables a meteorologist with the skills needed to work at an airport in an aeronautical forecasting capacity. DATAS facilitated this need by providing financial assistance towards the OAFC. I graduated from the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology in July 2019 with this additional qualification added to my resume. After attaining this qualification, I continued my on-the-job training at the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service where I gained full competency as an Operational Meteorologist in December 2020. Overall, I am indeed grateful for the tremendous support which the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) has provided myself as well as other Tobagonians.

My advice to persons seeking to enter the field of Meteorology is to ensure that you properly research what it entails before pursuing. Mathematics is engrained into this field so learn to love it! Also, there are various fields under the umbrella of Meteorology and while persons may ask, “If you’re a meteorologist, how come I never see you on TV?” there is no pressure to work at an airport. Other fields include Broadcast, Marine, Agro-Meteorology, Forensic Services and Hydro-Meteorology (just to name a few); it is important that you find one that fits your fancy and be prepared to work hard and do not forget to pray!

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