Twenty-four –year old Aqilah Shepherd, of Linden, Region Ten was last Wednesday admitted to the Guyana Bar after her petition to practice law was presented to Justice Brassington Reynolds by Attorney Leslyn Charles.
The ever-ambitious Shepherd overcame many challenges to achieve her goals. The young woman who was raised by a single-parent mother, sought to embrace a career which she felt would empower her to change underprivileged circumstances while making a difference in her community.
Shepherd’s mother was forced to travel to Antigua in search of greener pastures and left her daughter in the care of her mother and aunt, who were also single parents.
Notwithstanding the challenges faced while growing up, it was during Shepherd’s journey at the Mackenzie High School (MHS) that she decided that she wanted to pursue law.
She sat 11 subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examination and five subjects at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), achieving passes in all subjects including Units One and Two of Law.
Shepherd’s exceptional performance confirmed that Law was the right career path and this motivated her to further her studies at the University of Guyana (UG).
In 2015, the Lindener was accepted to read for her Bachelor of Laws Degree (LLB) at the UG.
While at the UG, she taught CAPE Law at her alma mater, MHS which required her to travel over 112 miles during weekdays to complete the required syllabus with the students.
Managing university and work was a challenge for Shepherd but not daunting enough to prevent her from pursuing her goals. The young woman successfully graduated from UG and in 2018 was accepted at Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad, to pursue her Legal Education Certificate (LEC).
In September of this year, she graduated from Hugh Wooding Law School with her LEC, a requirement to practice law in the Commonwealth Caribbean.
Shepherd stated that during the entire journey her mother was one of her motivation to achieve higher heights.
Aside from academics, Shepherd has also been a very active member in her community. For the last four years, she served as the secretary of the Linden Youth Leaders, a non-governmental organization was formed to engage Linden youths in community and self-development.
Shepherd also serves as President of the MHS Arts Achievers Alumni which was formed by former students of the Arts stream to inspire and encourage students.
“There was always a stigma attached to Arts, so my team and I wanted to encourage Arts students. We believe that by doing so, it would improve students’ performance and in turn change the negative perspective of the Arts stream at MHS,” she said.
Additionally, over the years she was also active in several other youth groups including, the University of Guyana’s Seventh-day Adventist Student Society and the Turkeyen Campus Lions Club; Hugh Wooding Law School choir and the Human Rights Committee, among others.
Shepherd’s advice to youth is to never allow circumstances to prevent them from reaching their goals.
“I came from humble beginnings, but I never let that stop me from going after the goals that I set for myself. I always set high standards for myself, then I would place my plans before God and work to achieve them. I believe this simple strategy can be employed to achieve your goals,” Shepherd advised.
