Office
of the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal. Wednesday, October 16, 2019
- For
the first time in The UWI Open Campus history, a mother and daughter
graduated on the same day, both with bachelor’s degrees.

Normally
parents accompany their children to a graduation ceremony to see them
cross the stage, however on Saturday October 12, 2019, the
mother-daughter duo from Dominica graduated together.

Mrs Delia
Cuffy-Weekes, mother and Ms Natasha Jervier, daughter crossed the
Open Campus graduation stage to be acknowledged by Chancellor Robert
Bermudez and to receive their respective degrees from Campus
Registrar Mrs Karen Ford-Warner. Mother Delia Cuffy-Weekes graduated
with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work, while daughter Natasha
Jervier graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Youth Development
Work.

Delia
works with the Ministry of Agriculture in Dominica, but embarked on
this course of study because of other interest. She explained that
very often she is sought after to help people address challenges in
their lives and felt the course would better equip her to do
something she already does.

“I
already do the work, advocacy regarding women in development, care
of the elderly, child abuse, I just needed to be certified,” Delia,
also a cultural custodian, writer and poet explained. As a result,
she decided to pursue the degree in Social Work with the Open Campus.

Natasha
is a secondary school teacher in Dominica, but has a keen interest in
youth affairs and served as the CARICOM Youth Ambassador for Dominica
for the period 2012-2014. Her choice of a degree in Youth Development
Work was keeping in line with her interest in youth affairs. She also
served as UWI Games Committee Chair and UWI Alumni Chapter Chair for
2014-2016.

Pro
Vice-Chancellor and Principal of The UWI Open Campus, Dr Luz
Longsworth congratulated the duo and expressed, “these are the
heart-warming stories that highlight the positive about the work that
the Open Campus is doing in the region. We are proud to be empowering
people who otherwise would not be able to realize their dream of a
quality tertiary education.   

IMAGES:

Photo
captions:

1. Mrs Delia Cuffy-Weekes and Ms Natasha Jervier with Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Open Campus, Dr Luz Longsworth
2. Mrs Delia Cuffy-Weekes and Ms Natasha Jervier with Director, Open Campus Country Sites, Dr Francis Severin
3. Mother
   and daughter, Mrs Delia Cuffy-Weekes and Ms Natasha Jervier  
   

About
The UWI

For
over 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has
provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider
world. The UWI has evolved from a university college of London in
Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally
respected, regional university with near 50,000 students and five
campuses: Mona
in Jamaica, St.
Augustine
in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave
Hill
in Barbados, Five
Islands
in Antigua and Barbuda and an Open Campus. As part of its robust
globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with
universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa
including the State
University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and
Sustainable Development;
the Canada-Caribbean Studies Institute with Brock University; the
Strategic Alliance for Hemispheric Development with Universidad de
los Andes (UNIANDES); the UWI-China Institute of Information
Technology, the University of Lagos (UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African
and Diaspora Studies and the
Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of
Johannesburg (UJ).
The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and
postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering,
Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science &
Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. 

As
the region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost
objective is driving the growth and development of the regional
economy. The world’s most reputable ranking agency, Times
Higher Education,
has ranked The UWI among the top 600 universities in the world for
2019, and the 40 best universities in Latin America and the Caribbean
for 2018 and 2019.The UWI has been the only Caribbean-based
university to make the prestigious lists. For more, visit
www.uwi.edu.

(Please
note that the proper name of the university is The University of the
West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)