Trevis Gardiner Success Story - Division of Education, Research and Technology

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WRITTEN TESTIMONIAL

Trevis Gardiner

Meteorologist

University of the West Indies

Throughout my younger years I always excelled academically. However, as a young boy my true passion was Football. I developed an instant love affair with the game from the moment I saw Thierry Henry playing, and from that moment my goal was to become a Professional Footballer.

In pursuit of this goal I attended St Clair’s Coaching School which played a pivotal role in my development. In fact I can still remember the three words we lived by ‘Discipline, Dedication and Cooperation.’ Additionally, it was at St Clair’s Coaching School the idea of University became appealing to me. I will admit at that time I only saw University as a means of getting to the United States to play college level football. However, at that time in my life let’s just say education was firmly on the back burner in comparison to football and the prospect of going to University gave me a reason to pay closer attention to my grades and take my education more seriously (My parents were overjoyed with this development).

As I made an assertive effort to dedicate more time to studying I began to really enjoy two subject areas: Geography and Physics. Geography really peaked my interest. I enjoyed learning about the Earth’s seasons, hurricanes, oceans, landforms, you name it and I enjoyed reading and learning about it. Additionally, my Geography teacher at the time Miss Hackett encouraged us as students to go to beaches, rivers and other landforms around Tobago and observe what we learned about during class. One day in class a student asked Miss Hackett about the different careers in Geography. I can only remember the way she spoke about Meteorology. She detailed how appealing a career in Meteorology was and that the job allows you to travel to many corners of the world while being paid a substantial salary. I was hooked and from that day forward it was either a Footballer or Meteorologist for me.

Fast forward to 2010: I completed sixth form at Signal Hill Secondary Comprehensive school and although I wanted to pursue tertiary education I had two older sisters who at that time were already pursuing theirs. It would have been too big of a burden on my parents for me to also go to university during that period. Therefore the working world was the only option for me! I bounced around a few jobs before finding a suitable role as a teller at RBC Royal Bank in Scarborough.

In 2013 after two and a half years in the banking industry I knew it was time for the next stage of my life. This might seem small to others but one of the things I am very proud of is that I never settled or became complacent. I know of many people who started jobs with the intentions of leaving for university and are still in that job up to today! I sat down with my parents and had the conversation about my plans. I told them I was applying to The University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus and if accepted I would be off to Barbados to pursue a Bachelor’s in Meteorology.

I was a bit lucky because a fellow colleague and friend of mine also applied to the Meteorology program. In fact we went to both Bishops High School and Signal Hill Secondary together and was now looking for the next step in our lives. He received his acceptance email and told me he got in. I became nervous as I did not receive a similar email. I checked my mail daily hoping that my acceptance would arrive. After about a week he asked, “Boy did you check your junk mail? That’s where I found mine.” Upon checking my junk mail I discovered my acceptance letter.

With the government’s GATE program covering my tuition, my family agreed to help with my other expenses along with a student loan I applied for from RBC Royal Bank.

Honestly, at the time I was unaware of the Department of Advanced Training and Advisory Services (DATAS) and that the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) was assisting Tobagonians in furthering their education. I eventually heard about the program through a friend that was already at university and although it was last minute I still applied for the assistance and was able to submit my application on time along with my colleague who I shared the information regarding DATAS with.

In August of 2013 I arrived in Barbados to begin my new Journey. Being away from home for the first time, renting for the first time, and even living without my family for the first time. These changes were a lot to handle all at once. Living in Barbados was definitely one of my most challenging experiences. Not to mention up until that point in my life my mother cooked most of my meals and I could barely boil rice. My only saving grace was the fact that I knew some of the students who were already at the University, and the house I lived in was made up of other Tobagonians which made me feel at home. We shared meals and generally helped each other out, which looking back really helped me during harder times.

To add to my challenges when I left for school my student loan was still being processed. The little I saved from work and my family’s financial support was all I had to make ends meet. Therefore, I was delighted when I got the call from Miss Petronella Neptune informing me that my financial assistance from DATAS was approved. I would also like to say a special thank you to Miss Neptune and may her soul continue to rest in peace. She was always kind, and reached out via email or telephone to ensure all our documents were prepared and to usher words of encouragement to keep our grades up.

Another challenge I had to overcome was transitioning from the working world back to school. Let me tell you, I thought that as I was working in the bank that my brain would have been fresh and ready to go. Boy was I wrong! It took me months to get up to speed. On top of that I found myself way behind in what was expected of me especially in mathematics.

Thankfully YouTube had many videos on mathematics which helped me to understand some of my courses.

Fast forward to 2018: I was back in Trinidad and Tobago after completing my degree and an internship in Barbados. I would consider myself luckier than my colleagues because while they were at home unemployed, RBC Royal Bank reached out to me to return to my old job. I was grateful for the opportunity although I did inform them of my plans of working at the Meteorological Office.

That opportunity came shortly after through the On the Job Training Program (OJT). I again left my home in Tobago this time to live and work in the sister isle of Trinidad. Here I had the opportunity to work as a forecaster trainee under a certified Meteorologist. To attain my forecaster license I was required to take no pay leave from OJT and return to Barbados. Again, I was able to turn to my faithful support system of my family and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) through the Department of Advanced Training and Advisory Services (DATAS). When I contacted DATAS and explained my situation they jumped at the opportunity to assist me financially in completing my certification.

I will forever be grateful to God, my family, the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), DATAS, and everyone who played a part in molding and supporting me to become the person I am today. To anyone interested in the field of Meteorology, my advice will be to visit the Meteorological Office to get the correct information as to which subject areas you should focus on during your high school years. Do your research, the experience during my university years exemplified the importance of choosing the correct subject areas when transitioning to higher levels of education.

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