KINGSTON, Jamaica – Amid ringing applause, the first ever master of philosophy in law graduate at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Elaine Campbell-Daenen, beamed with pride as she collected her canister during last week’s graduation ceremony.

Speaking with Observer Online following the ceremony, Campbell-Daenen said she feels fulfilled.

“There have been many challenges, but without the help of effective supervisors I wouldn’t be standing here today and so it’s not only a journey of myself, it’s a collective work of supervisors and people behind the scenes who supported the vision,” the 55-year-old said.

Confirming that her area of practice is academic law, Campbell-Daenen stated that she decided to further her education because of “self actualisation.”

“The topic I did actually chose me, it would not leave me alone. I got an idea about 10 or so years ago and I couldn’t walk away from it because it needed to become reality and so it’s the thought that kept me going,” Campbell-Daenen explained.

She said that being from St Elizabeth and witnessing the effects of mining in the Cockpit Country, she knew she had to focus on the humanitarian effects of that issue through the lens of the law.

A proud mother of four, Campbell-Daenen worked and lived in Europe for most of her career, and only spent sporadic periods in Jamaica over the last 10 years. But, having returned to the island permanently in 2019, Campbell-Daenen described her experience as beautiful. She went on to say that her time at UWI has been one that allowed her to find herself.

“I started my journey in Europe in the Netherlands because I did my undergraduate and my master of law in mainland Europe. I actually started out with a bachelor of social sciences and then I switched to law. So, I worked in the Netherlands as a consultant, as a research person.

“It’s an experience here at UWI and having been away and you come back, you get to know who you are. If you are starting out you know who you are, you know the ropes, but living in another culture and coming back to Jamaica in this cosmos of the University of the West Indies, it really solidified myself as a West Indian,” she told Observer Online.

Speaking on the difficulties she experienced at UWI, Campbell-Daenen said, “I can say in my opinion, law is one of the most difficult subjects, but in anything, once you understand the methodology and the methods then it can be easy. And so as a research degree, there is a saying with research, you’re always searching and you only know when you find it because sometimes you do not know what you are searching for and that has been a process.”

She added that her love for research will no doubt propel her to pursue a doctorate of philosophy (PhD).

“I love researching because I love to find things out, so I will continue that. I have a mediation consultancy and research company and obviously I am going to go on with the PhD in law,” Campbell-Daenen said.