– Loretta Noel picked up right where she left off!

LORETTA Noel dreamt of becoming a lawyer from as far back as she can remember and began working towards this goal by taking care to do well in school. Her life changed dramatically, though, with an unexpected situation sometime after completing her secondary education.

Determined to be able to deal with her new circumstances to the best of her ability, Loretta took some time off of her academic career to focus on that aspect of her life. “But even though I took some time off, becoming a lawyer was still at the back of my mind,” she said.

As her situation improved, about eight years later, Loretta, now 31, picked up from where she left off, and with the help of her caring parents and others, made her way to the Huge Wooding Law School in Trinidad to complete her studies.
She spoke to the Pepperpot Magazine during an interview recently at her new office at the Attorney General’s Chambers on Carmichael Street. She’s in the Advice and Litigation Department.

Having attended West Ruimveldt Primary and St. Stanislaus College, Loretta made her way to the University of Guyana to do the first year of a degree programme. She knew that once she completed a year and had a high GPA (grade point average), she could’ve then applied for acceptance into the law programme. And this she did!

“It took three years to complete the law degree and it was really tough because I was a single parent at the time and wasn’t working full-time; so to study, be a parent and be somewhat unemployed, it was really tough,” she recalled.
But Loretta would often reassure herself that in the end, things will be much easier on her. “I looked forward to the future,” she said.

As if the challenges were not enough to be able to complete the degree, Loretta had to think of how she would come up with the $6M that is required for tuition fees at the law school in Trinidad. “So you finish writing exams in May and you have between May and September with which to acquire that money. They only allot 25 spaces for Guyanese at Hugh Wooding so it’s not only about the money. The challenge is also making it on the list. This means that your grades have to be up to standard.” But Loretta did well and placed fifth among the top 25 students who were accepted.

While reaching out to various individuals and businesses to be able to come up with the required cash, a woman who heard Loretta’s story kindly provided the assistance she needed to be able to complete the first year at law school. “I accumulated some of the money but I was still short of half of it. She called me and gave me the remaining balance for the first year. So everything came into place shortly before the school was going to be opened for admittance.”

SECOND YEAR
Loretta was fortunate enough to have parents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis and Roxanne Noel, who agreed to care for her daughter, Condolezza, so that she could’ve left for Trinidad. “I’d like to thank my parents for taking care of my daughter while I wasn’t there, and making sure that she was ok. My sister, Nikita, was a great encouragement and my brothers, Russel and Paul, stepped in to help with my daughter too,” Loretta recalled.
Along with the support she received from her family, Loretta is also grateful to good friends like Audrey, Petal and Liesl among others, who provided her with the encouragement she needed.

Things went well for Loretta during the first year in Trinidad and she was doing very well with her studies. She could not, however, keep her mind off the fact that she needed to come up with the other half of the cash required for the second year.
“I had another hurdle to cross with getting the remaining $3 million for second-year tuition. That was very difficult and I wasn’t finding any success.”

With nowhere to turn and no solution in sight, Loretta said she woke up one day and decided to write her story from beginning to end and send it to various organisations. A certain agency responded. “They asked me if I had certain documents on me and I told them ‘yes’ and I can come over right away. They started preparing documents and called a few weeks later to tell me to get ready to go back to school. I was so thankful. I cried and cried. They paid for my ticket, tuition and even contributed to my living expenses and food,” Loretta fondly recalled, adding, “I went back and did my second year and I missed the Honours Roll by one A. It requires six As, but I got five.”

Having been admitted to the Guyana Bar Association last month, Loretta looks back and is very happy that she has managed to complete her law studies.
She is advising anyone going abroad to study to work hard and choose their friends wisely. “You have to learn how to manage your time wisely. That would help you a great lot at school. And make sure you find the right company while there, because you can easily slip into the party life and before you know it, exams are upon you. You have to understand the purpose of recreation. It is to refresh; it’s not after you finish recreation, you’re tired and burnt out. You’re to be refreshed.”