Gonsalves awarded UWI Open scholarship

by J. Soso-Vincent 02.MAY.08

Having forgotten about the scholarship examination she had written since February, Isis Gonsalves received the shock of her life when she was notified that she had been successful – so successful that she was awarded the Open Scholarship to study at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in the Faculty of Law.{{more}}

Isis, first daughter of the Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and his wife Eloise, related that she had found the exam to be extremely difficult and had not expected to pass. So it was much to her surprise and excitement that she was informed of her good fortune.

Isis acknowledged that roundabout the same time as she had written her exam, the first allegation against her father had surfaced. Despite it being a stressful time for her and her family, she said that she refused to let it get to her and affect her performance. “I knew it was a lie. Those people should be ashamed of themselves,” was her quiet, yet dignified, reply.

Isis intends to use her scholarship to follow in her father’s footsteps – up to a certain point. She has ambitions of becoming a lawyer, but is adamant that those ambitions do not extend to the political arena. Rather, she has a keen interest in Finance and Land Law. There wasn’t a hint of doubt in her voice when she affirmed: “I don’t want to get involved in politics.” Isis also related how happy she is that the awarding body is UWI and that the scholarship is not a national one. This means that people can’t accuse her father of ‘pulling strings’ to get her the scholarship. “It would be pointless to accuse me of being corrupt.”

Despite being a well-adjusted teenager, Isis admits that she often finds it difficult being the daughter of the Prime Minister; especially where her social life is concerned. She related how frustrating it is when people are overly nice to her and, on the other end of the spectrum, how upsetting it can be when people treat her worse than normal, simply because she is the PM’s daughter. In spite of this, Isis has words of encouragement for all her peers, who are applying for university scholarships: “Don’t ever give up!” She recalled that many students who had sat the exam with her had walked out of the exam before completing the entire paper. She is of the opinion that it makes no sense to give up – it’s better to see things through to the end, because once you give up, you are doomed to failure.