NCU lecturer named Educator of the Year
It did not come as a shock to the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) fraternity that Dr Patience Bazuaye-Alonge, Arton Wedderburn, Lucinda Peart, and Dr Marilyn Anderson captured awards at the recent Joint Committee on Tertiary Education (JCTE) awards ceremony.
After all, the four are consistently high achievers in their respective fields and capacities.
Dr Bazuaye-Alonge, who copped the Educator of the Year award, is graduate coordinator in the Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science, and country ambassador for the American Society for Microbiology 2018-2020. Wedderburn, a final-year religion and theology student who captured second place in the Most Outstanding Student of the Year award, has grade point average (GPA) of 4.0. Dr Anderson, a former chair of the Music Department who rose to the position of interim president of the university for 2016-2017 and Lucinda Peart, a former chair of the English and Modern Languages Department, now Humanities Department, each received the Lifetime Achievement award.
The award ceremony was held at the Oasis Resort in Negril on December 12, 2019.
Nigerian-born Dr Bazuaye-Alonge, who moved to Jamaica in 2000, is elated and humbled at her selection.
“I was excited. I think that whatever you do, you do it in the name of the Lord. That is my principle. I have done it since I was in Nigeria,” she relates.
Alonge is appreciative of the open environment that NCU has created through its willingness to allow students to express themselves openly through worship. “You will not be stopped or disengaged based on your beliefs at NCU,” says Alonge.
Dr Alonge started teaching at NCU in 2008 and has since been engaged in several community outreach activities, including the American Society of Microbiology.
Meanwhile, Wedderburn is thrilled to have placed second in the Most Outstanding Student of the Year category.
“I was surprised and immensely excited! I also felt pleased to know that my academic achievements were being recognised tangibly — the award will become a trophy which I can share for generations to come,” says the 4.0-GPA student.
“I did not see it coming, but God’s promise in Proverbs 22:29 was being honoured. Hard work pays off!” he adds.
For retired educator Dr Marilyn Anderson, the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award is an honour. She says her work has afforded her the opportunity to leave an impact on the lives of many young people, and encourages young people who wish to start by identifying their passion and using it for good.
“For you to leave an impact, you must relate to others. The first idea within you is serving others and it will impact them in a way that will make a difference for them and their community,” Anderson advises.
Peart, meanwhile, says serving is a part of being a Christian. She encourages others to be a beacon and acknowledge that service starts with oneself.
“Serve people because it is through serving people that you serve God,” she declares.
The JCTE awards added to the list of key recognition that NCU students and lecturers received in 2019. Among them were the Prime Minister’s Youth Awards for Excellence and the Scientific Research Council’s Science and Technology Fair.