Port Kaituma’s Jensen Samaroo is UWI St Augustine...
A slight mix up during his registration saw him being accepted at St Augustine to read for his second option degree, political science, instead of his first choice, law.
He started political science with the intention of transferring to law that same year but almost immediately, Samaroo said, he fell in love with Caribbean politics as it was taught in a very solutionoriented manner.
“In the sense that they discussed and provoked your thoughts [on] politics and development; its relation to development and moreso the problems that exist in our societies throughout the Caribbean and how do we address those problems and almost naturally coming from a country rife with political problems, that sparked an interest…” he shared.
Even though he filled out the transfer form, in the second semester he became very active in university life and its politics at the level of student governance. Samaroo held several student-related positions, including chairperson of the International Affairs Committee and he became recognised as a very active student leader on campus.
He praised the university for giving students opportunities to grow as leaders and interact with people from throughout the Caribbean.
“I completed the degree and I really loved it,” he said, adding that a lot of it did not feel like work as he was able to discuss with his friends Caribbean politics and bring that into the university space. So much so that he was referred to as the ‘Caribbean man’. When he ran for elections, he did a speech introducing himself not as a Guyanese but as a Caribbean man born in Guyana. The line is used by many and Samaroo said it was not coined by him, but borrowed from former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams. During his President’s College days, Samaroo said, he read that when Williams sent his book Capitalism and Slavery to the publisher, he asked not to be referred to as Trinidadian, but as a West Indian born in Trinidad.
“I found that to be really, really profound. That actually has shaped my thinking a lot. Like every time I am asked to introduce myself, I always say I am a Caribbean youth or Caribbean man who was born in Guyana,” the young man said.
Enrolled
Samaroo is now enrolled in the bachelor of law degree programme as
becoming a lawyer never left his mind even with the added interest in political science.
He has an advantage. His first-class honours degree means he is exempt an entire year and will complete the degree in two years instead of three, even though he has a heavier course load. It does not feel like work for Samaroo who does not complain about the late night readings, as he becomes so engrossed the time flies and sleep is furthest from his mind.
“I really love the law, none of it seems like work. I get to do what I love every day and I am very thankful for that and hopefully the same would translate to when I eventually qualify to practice law as well,” he added.
After his two-year degree he intends to go on to the Hugh Wooding Law School then return to Guyana to practice law. But his ambition has widened to wanting to practice law throughout the Englishspeaking Caribbean because of the strong vision he has for Caribbean and regional intervention.
While he will initially do general practice, Samaroo said recently he has developed an interest in offshore law that deals with offshore banking and financing and it is an area he will look into as well as corporate and commercial law.
But of course he will do general practice initially, because of his lifelong dream to help people, and that would be part of the legal aid work he will do. He has aligned himself with a lot of people who want to do similar work.
Twenty-two-year-old Samaroo is the youngest of four children. The eldest, a sister, owns a small business; he has a brother who recently graduated as a medical doctor and his third sibling works in the family business.
His parents, David and Anavel Samaroo, were originally not from Port Kaituma but they met there as teachers. They both came from poor beginnings, but have worked to provide for their family. Samaroo said he is always reminded about the background of his family and that has kept him humble. He remembers his beloved grandmother working in her shop the day before she died on July 26, 2020, four days before his 21st birthday.
Her death was a major blow to him and his family and created a huge challenge for him going into his final year and he had to put a lot of things on pause. Even though classes were virtually, he did not attend many, but he eventually did some therapy which helped him a lot, along with supportive friends.
He describes his parents as being soft and humble individuals and he admires those attributes.