Aiesha Scotland shines!
Aeisha Scotland
Aeisha Scotland

By Abigail Brower
AIESHA Scotland is a young woman of many ‘‘Bests and Firsts’’. Her resume is so impressive, it’s no surprise to her parents, friends and family.
The “repertoire” looks like this: She is the first born for her parents; first holder of a Bachelor Degree in her family circle; Best Graduating Student at the Richard Ishmael Secondary School for the Arts Stream in 2007; in 2010 she copped Best Graduating Diploma Student at the E.R. Burrowes School of Art and recently graduated from the 51st Convocation of the University of Guyana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Centre for Communication Studies with a Distinction in Public Communication and was declared Best Graduating Student for the centre.

It would have seemed extraordinary if her father hadn’t predicted it. To prepare his daughter he’d repeat ‘‘If you are not passionate about something, don’t do it, you will always return to your passion.’’ Scotland told the Pepperpot Magazine that education is extremely important to her parents. “I always attended extra lessons at the primary and secondary level,” she said. “My father, in particular, wanted to see me in the top 10 always. He would often visit the schools and work with his me and the other students.”

REACHING HER GOALS
Scotland became a member of the Guyana Women Artist Association (GWAA) which helped the young woman to exhibit her work as an artist and encourage her to keep making art. However work wasn’t coming in at the rate where she could have financially taken care of herself. It was at this point that Scotland decided to start seeking employment. During her job hunt, Scotland met with one of her tutors from the Burrowes School of Arts, Everley Austin, who informed her about a vacancy at the Christ Church Secondary School.
Despite her 10-year career in the creative industry, today, Aiesha Scotland, 27, has been making her mark as a teacher at the Christ Church Secondary School for the past five years.

Scotland brought leadership to the school with her artistic experience and unwavering commitment to the building of education in Guyana. However, her futuristic way of thinking, her probing mind and true commitment to her education at all levels led her to pursue higher education at the University of Guyana, where she applied to do both Fine Arts and Communication Studies and was accepted in both programmes. She chose to major in Communication Studies because she was already employed at Christ Church Secondary and Fine Arts was a full-time programme, and so to keep her job and being able to qualify herself, Scotland decided to further her studies in Communication. She believes that either programme would have aided her in her pursuit of art.

Her road to University has been paved with the kind of adversity that could have made an ordinary man fold, such as having insufficient finance to pay for her studies. Although Scotland is a working woman, she still had to depend on her father to assist her financially. “It wasn’t only tuition but it was transportation to and from classes, paying for handouts and printing documents,” she said. “[But] I don’t feel compelled to complain about my experiences with financial difficulties.”
Throughout Scotland’s years at the University, she deemed the experience and challenges as one that has shown her how to be assertive, gained more patience and tolerance for things that in the past would have upset her. “I have gained an understanding as to what it means to work in a team, and to build each other’s strengths,” she said.

Aeisha during a Visual Arts Teachers’ Exhibition

EXPERIENCE AT UG
During Scotland’s years as a student at UG, she highlighted that the University of Guyana has remained largely unchanged. She believes that it has to fix its underlying problems in order for the system to improve. ‘‘In my opinion, UG is divided, they need unity and cooperation among the administration and staff,’’ says Scotland.
The scholar admitted that her experience at UG also provided her with more confidence in herself and that she is thankful to God who has opened many doors of opportunity. ‘‘The degree is only the beginning. By the grace of God. I am pursuing a Masters in Arts Journalism,” she said. The assertive teacher is hoping to earn a government scholarship to further her studies in another country by the new academic year.

Despite her flourishing teaching career, when asked about art, Scotland said that some people may be confused at the fact that she is an artist and studied communication at UG. ‘‘Studying art exposes you to a variety of career options,” she said adding that communication studies will help her to write about art. So communication isn’t Scotland’s calling, art is.‘‘With my degree in communication, I am still pursuing my calling,’’ she assured.
But Scotland does have some ideas about what’s next for her. ‘‘I always pray that I get opportunities to work with persons to help them pursue their passion and not have to settle in a career because the market is not here,’’ she said.
Scotland has all the makings of a future ambassador in Arts and as an educator. She also credits her loving parents and younger sister and brother who look up to her. She believes that it has been a blessing to have had the opportunity to further her studies at the tertiary level and bring home the first degree in her home circle.

FAMILY SUPPORT
The overwhelming reactions received from her family members and friends about her accomplishment was deeply humbling for Scotland. ‘‘I spoke to my cousin who showed her daughter a photo of me on social media,’’ Scotland said, adding that her cousin congratulated her and said to her ‘you are a role model to my daughter.’ Scotland knew her family is not surprised by her outstanding achievement. ‘‘They knew I was studying very hard…Nevertheless, art is where my heart is and there is no changing about that,” says Scotland.

Scotland’s advice is for all university students to make their four years count: “Stay focused, know what you want, and instead of the easy way out, take the hard way because the hard way will benefit and give you knowledge, while at university and after the university life,” she said. She believes there are mental obstacles that stand in the way to achieving goals, ‘‘Success can happen, it’s about people who are willing to go deep within themselves and want to dig deeper to make a change or continue to change their lives.”

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