By Marissa V Foster

STEM has been continually gaining momentum in Guyana over the past few years; however, there is still a need to delve into the horizons and depths of STEM among Guyanese people. Bradley Downer, an advocate for STEM, promises to bridge that gap with his love for coding, programming, environmental science and writing. He is a quick-witted and cleve, promising young advocate of STEM in Guyana and the potential it holds for young people. His story did not begin with a royal title, but he is insistent on changing his path for the better with the use of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Bradley did not have the luxuries and opportunities as others had while growing up. He had no access to a computer and other technologies. He would oftentimes visit his cousins just to watch television and as expected, the only programmes that he was interested in were science and technology-related.

He was always the child who’d question his environment. “Why are there shooting stars?”, “How are websites built?” or “How can Guyanese make mobile apps?” are all questions he asked himself and others as a child. Bradley attended the Hopetown Primary School and it was here that his love for science blossomed even more. He subsequently attended the Mahaicony Secondary School and was determined to enter this science stream from his first day of admission. There was a shift of events and Bradley eventually joined the technical stream. Nonetheless, he still completed subjects such as Biology, Physics and Chemistry. He also developed a love for writing in the fourth form. He later received a scholarship to pursue environmental health at the Ministry of Public Health.

One day after he finished high school he read up on STEM Guyana and he was determined to join. After many applications, he finally received an email in August 2018 to be introduced to it. Bradley was trained and he gained a wider understanding of the different areas of STEM and he realised that career choices can be more than just a doctor or lawyer. His mother is his role model because of how well she adapted and thrived with having little to no resources—he was inspired to excel at whatever he put his mind to. Thus far, on his journey, he has met and interacted with many persons who have helped to shape him into the person he is today. He has worked alongside Joylyn Conway (Miss World Guyana 2019) with her STEM Girls Glow campaign. This man of science and technology also learned how to do website designing with Samantha Sheoprashad. He was introduced to robotics and how to programme robotics with STEM Guyana. Bradley says that he accepts that he does not know everything there is to know of this field, but he’s always open to learning. This aspiring motivational speaker now uses his platform to enlighten others on STEM in Guyana as he was a part of many talks and outreaches across the country in churches and schools. As a youngster of science who sees the need to give back to the community, he is also a committed STEM volunteer to many NGOs.

Downer was the victim of discrimination many times before. “You’re not smart enough,” “STEM is not for you,” or “You did not attend an ‘A’ grade school” are some of the harsh things he heard against him. Nonetheless, this did not deter him from pursuing his aspirations in life. Currently, he is employed under the Ministry of Public Health as an Environmental Health Inspector/ Sanitary or Public Health Inspector in Region Five. His job seeks him to inspect house lots, complaints of unsanitary conditions in a neighbourhood, food-handling training, water sampling and how to keep the environment on a whole. Some of his accomplishments thus far include: an internship with STEM Caribbean, participated in the ‘I love STEM’ competition from STEM Caribbean and gained third place and was a finalist in CARICOM’s energy competition.

Downer plans on studying at a University in the field of medicine, computer science or journalism. His end goal is to gain a PhD in one of the mentioned areas. Bradley advises youth like himself by saying, “You can do anything as long as you put your mind to it and focus. My favourite quote from the bible is: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’, this helps me throughout the day.” He continued by saying: “Nothing in life comes easy, do not limit yourself, because only you can determine what you can do and how you can do it.”