IN 2014, then 16-year-old Tressyia Ketwaroo emerged in the fourth position in the country at the Caribbean Secondary Entrance Certificate (CSEC).She secured 16 grade ones and one grade two passes. Her goal then was to get into the medical field.

Four years later, the former Skeldon Line Path Secondary student is preparing to begin her third year of a five-year programme of study at the University of Guyana Turkeyen campus, Faculty of Health Sciences School of Dentistry, where she is reading for a Bachelors of Dental Surgery.

The young lady told the Guyana Chronicle that she was inspired to become a dentist after recognising the need for persons to take their oral health seriously.

“I feel it’s important [that] people start realising the significance of oral health that they try and start to treat it as important as general health, because it’s equally important. It’s not just about getting a tooth extracted, it’s so much more. Many are not aware of the preventative measures that they can take and how it’s an integral part of general health.”
She explained that the end of the five-year BDS programme is only one part of her goal itself and it’s a step in the direction of achieving her other goals, which may take another four years of studying, but she is ready and positive of getting there and becoming a specialist.

Ketwaroo’s ultimate goal will be realised when she begins studying to become a specialist in an area called Oral Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS), which is defined as treating many diseases, injuries and defects in the head,neck,face,jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the mouth and the maxillofacial (jaws and face) region.(Wikipedia definition).

Since this programme is not offered in Guyana, she plans to continue her studies at a university abroad and upon completion, return to her homeland to open her own dental clinic in her county, Berbice.

“I find especially in Berbice it’s being neglected compared to other places in Guyana. So I took all of that into consideration and wanted to help and do more for where I live, so at the end of it all I come back here and help to promote good oral practices — in educating and bringing awareness.”

Despite making it look simple, Ketwaroo said the transition from secondary to tertiary-level education is quite demanding and without proper focus and determination one can easily lose focus.

Recalling her journey after receiving her CSEC results in 2014, she commenced studies at the New Amsterdam Multilateral where she sat seven subjects at the CAPE level.
There she had her first taste of what she had to prepare for as she wasn’t too pleased with her CAPE results. But being the fighter she is, she was determined to do better. In 2015 she enrolled at the University of Guyana Tain Campus where she began reading for an Associate Degree in Biology, so she could follow her dreams of what she really wanted; that was to ensure she had a high enough GPA in the first year of the programme to ensure she was accepted into the dentistry programme at the University of Guyana Turkeyen campus.

When this publication visited her in 2014, she mentioned taking up a career in the medical field in the direction of Neurosurgery.

“I wasn’t thinking Dentistry then, I was more interested in Neurosurgery; at that time it interested me a lot and still has, but my passion lies in Dentistry; I find it more interesting, my mom was a huge encouragement while I was deciding, so I did a lot research and became intrigued.”

A true country girl, she misses the daily home-cooked meals the most and travels home every weekend to re-unite with her family and savour her mom’s cooking, while taking extras to last her throughout the week.

As she continues to follow her dream, Ketwaroo urges CSEC graduands to start thinking about their future early and to be prepared to work hard.

“I would like to tell them to start thinking about what they want to do in the future and start thinking how to get there. Start planning, while some may have already figured out what to do, they should plan on how to get there and work towards it and find a balance between studying and be prepared to work hard to achieve their goals.”