Tonia Williams euphoric over Rhodes Scholarship opportunity
TWENTY-THREE-YEAROLD TONIA Williams, Jamaica’s 2022 Rhodes Scholar, said it was a moment of shock and emotional highs when she learnt that she was being awarded this year’s scholarship on Thursday afternoon.
“I’ve had a couple of hours to process and I’m still in a bit of shock,” she told The Gleaner yesterday, adding that her fellow candidates competing for the prize saw how speechless she became.
“I could barely contain my joy; I started crying,” she said.
When she caught her breath, she called her parents and grandmother to convey the good news. They commended her dedication, work ethic, and the discipline she continues to portray.
“They were almost more excited than I was. My grandmother even cried,” said Williams.
She told The Gleaner that she is grateful, honoured and heartened at the opportunity to be able represent herself, her family, her past schools, and Jamaicans at large and is excited and anxious to see how the next chapter of her life will unfold.
“Personally, finding out that I had won felt as though all the twists and turns of my life made sense. This has been a journey of purpose, even if there were moments where I wasn’t certain of it,” said Williams.
Reflecting on her earlier academic experiences at Immaculate Conception High School in St Andrew and her love for t he sciences and mathematics, Williams says her aptitude in those areas led her along a path to pursue a career path in paediatrics, but after further consideration, she delved into actuarial science.
“What kept me connected to paediatrics wasn’t the medicine of it, it was being able to help children. Working with, spending time with, guiding children who were younger than me, has always brought me joy,” she said, especially of special needs children.
Williams, who described herself as a big dreamer since she was a child, said that she had always hoped to be able to travel the world.
And even without solid travel plans, she began to prepare for the experience by learning to speak French.
She disclosed that he had been devastated after unsuccessfully applying for summer programmes across United World Colleges in fifth form. However, she regrouped and reapplied in the following year.
Her efforts paid off this time around and the 17-year-old Williams then headed off to spend two years in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Eastern Europe.
TEACHING ENGLISH
She continued to broaden her linguistic horizons by joining various clubs and her first trip away from home allowed her to fulfil a lifelong dream of hers by volunteering to teach English at a local kindergarten school.
“This is where my passion for education was truly solidified,” Williams told The Gleaner.
She later transitioned to Vassar University in the United States, where she did an undergraduate degree in physiological psychology.
She is now a graduate student at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, focusing on human development in education.
Williams is advising youngsters back in Jamaica, who may think their dreams seem unattainable, to trust the journey, though it may seem long or it may seem as if they are on the wrong career path.
“You have to be okay to allow yourself to be pulled to other opportunities, while keeping your eyes on your goal,” she said, noting that success will hinge on how well they tackle the challenges along the way.
“This is your journey,” Williams added, stressing that they should never feel disheartened by comparing themselves to others.
The new Rhodes Scholar-elect will travel to Oxford University in the United Kingdom in October next year, joining a cohort of over 100 Scholars from around the world to do fully funded postgraduate studies.
The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s pre-eminent and oldest graduate fellowship, based at the University of Oxford since 1903. The scholarships for Jamaica began in 1904 and have been awarded to one outstanding applicant each year.