By Shikema Dey
Growing up, Tamesh Mohabir was always fascinated with the field of engineering and he one day expected to make a career out of it but life had other plans.
Now, years down the line, the 30-year-old is an educator, married with a son, and is this year’s valedictorian for the University of Guyana Tain Campus, graduating with a 4.0. GPA after completing his Bachelor of Education Degree (Mathematics Concentration Programme).
He grew up in Adelphi Village, East Canje, Berbice and when he lost his father, Robin Mohabir, his mother Yvonne Soomaroo made sure he went to school to sponge up all the knowledge he could. And that he did.
Mohabir told the News Room on Monday that the news of him being this year’s valedictorian was still a bit shocking.
“I kept looking at the email, rereading it several times before it actually registered that I was the valedictorian,” he shared.
He became a teacher in 2009, starting out at the New Amsterdam Multilateral Secondary School (NAMS) where he remains to date. There, the love for teaching blossomed and Mohabir said he wanted to learn more so he could better “mold the nation’s children.”
“It was that love for teaching and wanting upward mobility in my career that pushed me further to attend UG so in September 2019 I started and now here I am,” he continued.
The Mathematics course “was no joke”, Mohabir said but the patience and dedication of his lecturers coupled with his “perseverance” made it worthwhile.
“…especially in this second year, the second year was tough but the lecturers were amazing and they made things easier so it was nothing that me and my classmates could not conquer.”
Mohabir and his classmates started UG before the pandemic hit Guyana’s shores and that prove to be the hardest feat.
The transition from in-person classes to online learning was a hard adjustment, he explained, considering the constraints faced by many regarding internet connectivity and electricity.
“That transition was rough because we had to move from face to face classes that we were used to all our life…for the first two months, it was hard, we had blackouts, all that but you had to do what you had to do to get the work done,” he shared.
Mohabir’s UG life also had good moments; he recalled sitting at the nearby John’s Campus with classmates under fruit trees to “de-stress” and forget about the hardships of life.
“And that was one of the best things about going to UG apart from learning so many new things that you wouldn’t learn anywhere else,” he added.
Just on Monday, Mohabir received the President’s medal for his achievement. And now, the Valedictorian awaits the day of his graduation where he would be making an address to his fellow peers.
His advice to prospective students? Time management.
“You need time management – time management is the key because if you can manage your time, you would be able to do what you have to do and do it well,” he said.
