Teacher at the Isaiah Thomas Secondary School (ITSS) Mrs. Kelian Stedman will represent the 2024 graduating class of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Global Campus as its Valedictorian.
Mrs. Stedman is a graduand of the BEd in Educational Leadership and Management(Special) with first class honours.
A virtual ceremony will take place on Saturday 9, November 2024.
According to a statement from wwwieyenews.com, during her time at the Global Campus, she consistently earned a place on the student honour roll, and her unwavering commitment to education is deeply influenced by its transformative impact on her own life.
“Coming from humble beginnings, she recognized early on that education was the key to overcoming barriers. This understanding fuels her passion to instil in her students a firm belief in education’s power to change lives,” the statement said. “It also motivates her charitable work, as she dedicates herself to supporting the disadvantaged and marginalized within her school and the broader community.”
The statement continued, “As a teenager, she developed a strong sense of self-awareness, recognizing her creative and expressive talents as key personal strengths. Driven by a desire to use these skills to benefit others, she pursued an associate’s degree in Secondary Education—a decision she holds dear. She has since dedicated her career to education, gaining extensive experience across both primary and secondary/high school levels. Recently, she has taken on leadership roles, including serving as a Form Level Supervisor at her school. In this capacity, she provides guidance to both students and faculty, fostering an environment of academic excellence through her leadership.”
Committed to furthering her journey of empowerment, she plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Inclusive Education. Mrs. Stedman’s experiences at UWI have ignited a passion for law and justice within the education sector. Her goal is to promote diversity, equality, and equity in Caribbean schools, advocating for these values to become central to the education system.
The statement went on to state that in her personal life, she is sociable and family-oriented, finding fulfilment in meaningful interactions. Passionate about motivational and inspirational writing, she eagerly anticipates publishing her first inspirational work in 2025.
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of The UWI Global Campus, Dr. Francis Severin asserts that, “Mrs Stedman’s account of her modest origins and her advancement to where she is now, precisely underscores the ethos and spirit, and indeed actions of the Global Campus and its predecessors of leaving no one behind.” Dr Severin continued, “The Global Campus, formerly the Open Campus, has never shirked its responsibility and has never let down any country, in spite of its severe resource and financial constraints. Our Valedictorian of the 2024 Class is living testament to that fact.”
He congratulated Stedman on behalf of the Global Campus Senior Management Team. Staff, students, alumni and other well-wishers across the Region are invited to tune in to the Virtual Graduation Ceremony which will be streamed live via www.uwitv.org and on UWItv’s channels on Flow EVO and Facebook Live from 6:00 PM (Eastern Caribbean/AST) | 5:00 PM (Jamaica/EST) | 4:00 PM(BZE/CST).
Dominican Kelian Stedman is the 2024 UWI Global Campus Valedictorian – IEyeNews
Such an inspiration and excellent role model for the youth and overall community. Congratulations on a job well done.
UWI has gotten rid of tests since covid and has not re-enstated tests, and only examines on assignments, hence everyone is graduating UWI now with first class honours
excellent, awesome, amazing, hope she doesn’t get moved away from ITSS now she has further qualified herself.
We know how they like to brandish ITSS as a troubled school, that nothing good every comes from that place.
Ms Stedman, you can make a difference to the lives of these students as you’ve continued to do.
God bless ITSS, my alma Mata.
Wonderful indeed! A remarkable achievement indeed! God bless you.