WITH a highly taxing job as the Political, Press and Public Affairs Officer, Tianna Graham oversees the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) attached to the British High Commission, Georgetown, Guyana, where she is expected to be in the know at all times, the kind of challenge she likes.

She has been at the post for the past two years and six months, and the job has opened new doors and afforded her newer opportunities.

Graham is a very enterprising young woman who pushed herself to become the best version of herself in many aspects of life to be marketable and get the job she always wanted.

She is a city girl with nine siblings, from a single-parent home in South Ruimveldt, and derived from very humble beginnings, where she could not even attend school five days per week like most school-aged children.

But despite challenges, she went to Central High School, then to St. Joseph High, where she was a student of fourth form and later went to the University of Guyana (UG) to pursue Communication Studies.

As she delved into the world of employment, her very first job was at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) as the confidential secretary to the Chief Executive Officer.

Whilst there, she realised she liked the media in terms of public speaking and relating to people since she was utilised to function as the Public Relations Officer when that person went on annual leave.

Hence, she applied for a job as a reporter at Kaieteur News and was there for eight months, after which she worked at the Private Sector Commission as a public relations officer for two years.

Graham told the Pepperpot Magazine that the job was good but pretty much routine after a while and that she was up for a challenge.

So, when she saw the advertisement in the newspaper, she grabbed the opportunity and applied for the job at the British High Commission.

She added that she received a favourable response and got the job. She was elated and knew she had to ‘be in the know” to be effective and reliable at her job.

Graham reported that her job is multi-faceted and highly taxing, so she knew what she was getting into and would do her best to stay abreast with the news via the newspapers, social media, television etc.

“I would read the newspapers daily from front to back because you never know when something about the British government will come up, so being one step ahead is wise,” she said.

Graham’s job entails maintaining good relations with media, managing social media platforms, keeping updated on political trends, public affairs and other related tasks.

“This job has given me the opportunity to travel to nine different countries and I have met so much people and were able to connect so it is a stepping stone to build contacts,” she said.

Graham told the Pepperpot Magazine that she sees herself in the public diplomacy field and somewhere in politics, too, because of her love for both and as a humanitarian, she will always be passionate about human rights and volunteerism.

For the Soul
She is the founder of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) “For the Soul”, in 2017, and they have a group of 12 members, which includes friends and associates.

Graham is a passionate humanitarian who loves giving back to society through her organisation and has successfully hosted ‘Back to School” outreaches, Christmas hampers, and skills workshops.

Grounded in her roots and as a normal person, she always had a deep sense of wanting to give back and do something to support others who are going through less than fortunate times.

“My first project with the NGO was after a meeting we got together to host a Back-to-School project, which was successful and that motivated me to keep going, I wanted to do even more. I wanted to create a safe space where people can express themselves without the fear of being judged,” she said.

She expressed gratitude to her parents and partner for their continued support throughout her journey to better herself and for every new initiative she cooked up.

Graham told the Pepperpot Magazine that at the office of the British High Commission, the team work and effort is everything she was hoping for.

She stated that even though the team is small, they punch their way above their weight and it’s all due to the sterling team effort that they can execute all of the British High Commission’s work.