–while on gov’t scholarship in China

SHENELLE Benjamin made good on her promise to her family and the Government of Guyana when she graduated earlier this month with a Master’s Degree in the disciplines of agriculture, economics and management from one of China’s top universities.

The 36-year-old, who is an assistant lecturer at the Tain Campus of the University of Guyana, was afforded a joint two-year scholarship by the Governments of China and Guyana in September 2016, and graduated with honours on schedule.
The only Guyanese to have been offered such a scholarship at the time, she was registered at the Hebei Agriculture University in Baoding City, in China’s Hebei Province.

Born Shenelle Onikia Benjamin, the young professional began her quest for academic excellence at the New Amsterdam Multilateral School in Berbice, before proceeding to the Guyana School of Agriculture, and later the University of Guyana, where she graduated with a degree in Agricultural Science in 2004.

In 2006, she succeeded in landing a job with the Guyana Sugar Corporation and rose to the position of senior manager at the now defunct Rose Hall Sugar Estate, before resigning eight years later.

In an interview in New York, where she is making a brief stop on her way home, the young professional told the Guyana Chronicle that her desire is to lend her expertise to the planned restructuring and diversification of the Rose Hall Estate, as the topics were part of her course-work while in China.

She further disclosed that she made the diversification of the Rose Hall Estate the main topic in her final thesis, which she named: “The Diversification Strategy of the Rose Hall Estate in Guyana.”
That thesis, she said, was published in the International Journal for Scientific Research, based in India, and is available online.

Shenelle, who boasts a strong christian background, is a member of the Grace Temple Assembly of God Church in New Amsterdam, Berbice, and credits her achievements to her faith in God, and the support of her father, Mr George Benjamin, and her late mom, Mrs Barbara Benjamin.

An entrepreneur as well, Ms. Benjamin is the co-founder of Gifted Hands, which specialises in events decor.

Beaming with pride at her accomplishment,  the New Amsterdamer was keen to advise other women, “Put God first and resist any attempt by society to redefine you or determine your destiny.”