Dwight Hall Success Story - Division of Education, Research and Technology

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SUCCESS STORY

Dwight Hall

Electrical Engineer

B.Eng. (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology (EEET)

My journey to earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering significantly impacted my life and so shaped my perspective, that I consider it to be my best learning experience thus far. The lessons learned were priceless and they played an important role in who I am today.

YEAR ONE – The Certificate

My journey commenced on September 1, 2013, when I left Tobago to attend the Automated Technology College (ATC) in Trinidad. The College was located in San Fernando and I had very limited knowledge of Trinidad and its environs. However, I was determined to pursue an education in Electrical and Electronic Technology and so I was not deterred.

At the time, I did not have a clear plan of how I would execute my goal, nor was I fully conscious of the meticulous financial planning that would be required. All I knew was that I had what I thought was enough money saved, I wanted to enrol at ATC and the programme was GATE funded. For everything else, I freestyled.

I was very reluctant to rent a shared apartment, although this would have been more cost-effective and I travelled to college via taxi because my commute was from Curepe to San Fernando, which was a considerable distance and my classes started at 8:45 a.m.

After three months into my first year and paying for my registration along with my exam fees, I evaluated my savings and was devastated at the findings.

This is how I learned to do critical evaluation, sacrifice, financial discipline and better decision making based on the resources available. I realized that my consumption of food and spending habits needed to be readjusted otherwise I would only make it through seventy-five percent of the study program.

Even though it was convenient to travel by taxi because they were always available (on most days), the fare was twice the cost of traveling on the public bus. However, the buses were unreliable as they were never on time. Nevertheless, due to the lower cost, there were days that I would walk to the bus route from my apartment and take a bus instead of a taxi.

One month after I did my evaluation, I started seeking various means of financial assistance, so that I could make it through the entire study program. Although I was making a sacrifice and cutting back on many things, I found that the cost of eating and staying healthy to effectively function in the classroom was still very expensive.

The reality was that, despite all the cutbacks, if I did not access financial assistance, I would not be able to complete the Course. I would possibly make it through to ninety percent of my studies but no more.

While I was seeking financial assistance, I kept focused on my tasks ahead so that I can be successful in my studies. It was hard but manageable, so I kept praying.

I subsequently found out about financial assistance being offered by the Tobago House of Assembly from the Department of Advanced Training and Advisory Services (DATAS). I therefore applied, trusted in the process and was eventually provided with the financial support I requested. I was able to successfully complete my studies in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology with distinction and was awarded a Certificate.

At that juncture, I questioned myself: What is next? Where do I go from here? Pursuing a Diploma seemed feasible but I did not have the finances to take me through the Diploma year. Given that I had the blueprint for surviving on a low budget and was already familiar with living in Trinidad, to make my dream a reality, I decided to work and study.

YEAR TWO – The Diploma

My Diploma year was a replica of the first but more refined. I worked while pursuing my studies and bought a food steamer, which made preparing my meals easier. I refrained from eating out, as food was one of the highest expenses.

To avoid the exorbitant taxi fares, on mornings, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and walked to the bus route to travel on the 7:45 a.m. bus, which travelled from the University of the West Indies (UWI), to San Fernando.

The trade-off was my grades. They took a hit in the end because of the work and study dynamic but I was grateful that I did not fail my Course. In retrospect, trying to balance work and studies prove to be an extremely difficult period. There were even times where this required commutation between the two islands. For example, there were times that I boarded the slow ferry which departed Trinidad at 11:00 p.m. and arrived in Tobago the next morning, in order to work on a construction site or to teach water sports there. I then took the ferry back when done.

In the end, it was worth it, as I obtained my Diploma (which consisted of three courses) with a distinction, merit and a pass. Shortly thereafter though, the same question surfaced. I found myself once again confronted with the thought of: What next? Where do I go from here?

To help me determine the next step, I consulted with my Lecturer at ATC Mrs. Sangeeta Ramlal and she recommended that I pursue a Higher National Diploma (HND) at the School of Business and Computer Science (SBCS). This was a two-and-a-half-year program, which, based on the final grade, qualified the participant to be admitted into the final year of a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Greenwich.

Pursuing this programme would have required better financial planning and so I decided to take a one year break. During this time, I was able to work and accumulate my savings, plan and search for an apartment close to the school and seek early financial assistance, to avoid some of the challenges I had encountered over the past two years.

YEAR THREE, FOUR & FIVE – The Higher National Diploma (HND) into Bachelors

This period was the easiest of all the times I pursued tertiary education, which I believe was attributable both to my well-organized planning and the knowledge gained from the rough and refining experiences of the two previous years. Despite the assistance, to have sufficient funds, I still had to work for two months, which I did, as a Gas Pump Attendant at an NP outlet. I also lived within walking distance of the School and it was more economical for me to shop at the market, versus buying food.

I found the classroom settings to be challenging and so I aligned myself with classmates who were more experienced and who grasped topics faster than I did. This played a critical role in my overall and classroom success. When possible, I also did all-nighters to compensate for my lack of experience as the programme was novel to me, all of my classmates had either field experience or were repeating the Course. I was determined not to be left behind.

My hard work paid off. The HND consisted of sixteen modules and from these, I was able to attain fifteen distinctions and one pass. The grades that I attained then positioned me to be enrolled in the final year of an Engineering Degree programme, which I went on to study and graduated with First Class Honours.

My recommendation when pursing a study programme is to follow your heart, be disciplined in your action, don’t forget to pray and have faith. I know that my success was not attained only by my effort but on account of divine intervention. In the beginning, I did not have a plan nor did I have the financial backings to do it on my own but yet I made it from a Certificate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology to a Bachelor’s Degree with First-Class Honours.

I am grateful to DATAS and all the persons who directly and indirectly contributed to my journey because without them, I may not have made it this far. I always keep in my thoughts the adage that, “Faith without works is dead and procrastination is a killer of dreams”.

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