By Jeune Bailey Van Keric
“I DON’T forget the people who embraced me,” said Dr Paulette Henry, hours after she had graduated with a doctorate in Higher Education Leadership (EdD), from the University of the West Indies, Open Campus.

She added that whether it was a horse- cart operator or the driver of a high- end vehicle, “I have found myself a community who has not forgotten me. Those people have kept me and held me together.”

Reflecting on her academic journey, Dr Henry said it would be remiss of her if she does not return to her roots. Her parents, the now deceased Varnie Randal Cox Legall and Esther Semple Legall instilled in her a sense of responsibility and family values at an early age.
Being the eldest child, a young Henry was tasked with the responsibility of caring for the family’s livestock before going off to school.

“My parents were two sharp, brilliant people, who later became entrepreneurs. They always instilled the value of wanting better and they ensured that my six siblings and I always got our books and uniforms. My mother died and I being the eldest, I held the family together. I ensured the family stayed on track because of the values of caring and nurturing which were instilled in us. A lot of those values were transferred into my personal life and then translated into my professional life. We were told ‘Whatever you start, you finish,’” she told the Guyana Chronicle.

It was with grounding, after successfully acquiring the Class 1 Grade 1 Trained Teacher Certificate from the Cyril Potter College of Education in 1981, she enrolled at the Critchlow Labour College where she was instructed in Industrial Relations and Social Studies.
While at the college, that she was advised to pursue Social Work at the University of Guyana and she did, graduating in 1992 with the Frank Pollard Prize for the Best Graduating Student in the Diploma in Social Work Programme.
Due to family commitments, having been married for almost 40 years to Claude Henry, who served in the postal service and was a Mayor of New Amsterdam, Ms. Henry put a pause on studying to care for her three children, two of whom were preparing for the Common Entrance Examination.

During this time she was employed as a probation officer, and in 1998, she resumed studies, successfully reading for a Certificate in Gender Studies at the University of West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados. She also read for a degree in Social Work and graduated as a top student, copping the Sybil Patterson Award for the Best Graduating student in that programme.
She subsequently pursued post-graduate studies in Social Work and again excelled, securing the Allan Earp Award for Best Graduating Student in that discipline and the Vice- Chancellor’s Award for Best Graduating Student, Faculty of Social Sciences, from the University of Guyana.

INVITATION

“After completing my degree, I was invited by the University of Guyana to be a part of the team,” she said, noting that she joined the Faculty of Social Sciences as a Social Work educator.
With a background as a Senior Probation and Family Welfare Officer, she was able to bridge the gap between theory and practice, bringing to the fore, a richness to the teaching and learning environment.
Over the years, Dr Henry has served in several leadership and management positions within the University of Guyana community. She also served as Child Protection Officer with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). Notably, over the last five years, she led the design and implementation of the Institute of Gender Studies while serving as an Interim Director until it was staffed. Dr Henry was also instrumental in the designing and implementation of the Centre of Excellence for teaching and learning, which is critical to the ongoing professional development of UG’s academic staff.

OUTSTANDING WORK
Because of her interest in professional development, in 2015 she helped to coordinate an international conference for Social Work practitioners and educators and the subsequent handbook on ‘Standards for Professional Social Workers’, which is used locally, was developed.
Three years after, she coordinated the first teaching conference on Higher Education in Guyana, which saw participation from regional and international educators.
Over the years, her research interest has centred on issues of well-being, which addresses issues of suicide, gender, income security and child protection.
Dr Henry is currently on sabbatical leave. She was recently promoted to senior lecturer at the University of Guyana and has been identified by the Commonwealth of Learning (CoL) to be one of their ‘Wise Women’ mentors.
The CommonwealthWiseWomen is a new mentoring programme which offers unique networking opportunities for women and girls from underserved communities across the Commonwealth. By pairing the mentees with successful and influential women in leadership roles for a period of at least six months, the mentees get to map their path through seeing, doing, and networking
Dr Henry nowadays is interested in giving back to communities.
“There are diverse needs. I want to contribute to the upskilling to those who need help. I will continue to give to UG. However, my spiritual journey is a work in progress. I have been blessed and I now have the responsibility to give… love, help, listen … provide a platform to help persons as much as I can,” she said.