For Isaiah and Thilia Somerset, a young couple with dreams of acquiring a university degree, the journey to academic glory was filled with challenges and obstacles. They faced health issues, financial difficulties, and, on top of this, had to deal with all the challenges that come with an expanding family. But they were determined to overcome every hurdle and finish the journey they started almost four years ago. Isaiah will graduate with a degree in Biology from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, while Thilia will graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education (Early Childhood Education) from the faculty of Education and Humanities when the University of Guyana hosts its series of Convocation exercises from November 20 to December 6.
Isaiah, who grew up in Linden and now lives in Lodge with his wife and children, always dreamed of becoming a doctor. “I always wanted to become a doctor from a young age. I am a people person and I love to help. I think being a doctor would allow me to help people”. That dream almost died when he first came to Georgetown to study Chemistry at UG and struggled. “My grades were not good. I took a complete withdrawal from the programme and decided I was not going to study again. My dad has a gold business and I was already prepared to take up that mantle.” But marriage brought a turning point. “After I got married, my wife encouraged me to study again,” Isaiah said. He switched to the BSc Biology programme, but life tested him immediately. “I had struggles at work and I was working taxi so I did not really take it [studies] seriously at first. Added to that, when we had a baby in my first year and another in my final year.”
When face-to-face classes resumed, something shifted. “Ms. Ruth Daniels spoke to us about what it means to have a bachelor’s degree. The way she spoke made me realise how serious this is. I decided to get more serious. She really made this degree sound like it mattered,” Isaiah said.
For Thilia, a teacher at St. Gabriel’s Primary, motherhood, work, and school collided in painful ways. “It was chaotic. During my pregnancy I would have nightmares. It got overwhelming because it was a lot. At one point I had to step away from work because I couldn’t manage; I was on one month’s sick leave. I was being pressured at work,” Thilia shared.
Then came heartbreak. “My last pregnancy was a twin and we only got one baby, and I believe it was the pressure I was under that affected the other baby,” Thilia shared. She never lost sight of her why. “I kept going because I wanted to be someone respectable in society, and I was doing this for my children and my husband,” she said with much pride.
Their challenges intensified. Illness struck. “After the second year, I went to the interior for two months and came out with malaria,” Isaiah recalled. “When I was writing exams in third year the symptoms started manifesting. I was allergic to one of the medications and was in class scratching all the time.”
Thilia added, “At one point we were sharing a container, throwing up at the same time. We were both sick, studying with a new baby.” There were days they sat in hospital beds together, missing classes. There were nights they studied with fevers, days they attended lectures while exhausted, and moments when the demands felt unbearable.
But the young couple moved as one unit. They sacrificed for each other. “We would usually share one computer. One time we took the same elective and had an exam the same day, same time. He allowed me to do my exam first, even when only a little time was left. He sacrificed his grade for me. Thankfully he was allowed to redo his exam another day.”
“One time I had a Berbice job with my taxi work, and I did not want to miss my presentation. I pulled over with the customer in the car, did my presentation, then continued to Berbice. Thank God my customer was understanding,” Isiah recalled.
When asked what advice they would give to other couples sharing the same journey, Thilia said: “Put God first and everything will fall into place. The devil tempted us a lot. We even went through marriage counselling. We experienced financial difficulties. Some days we didn’t know how we would make it, but we did. God is so good.”
“Support each other, love each other even when things look hard. Sometimes it might look like there is no hope, but there is. Be your partner’s motivation,” Isiah encouraged.
Family became their earthly anchor. “My mother-in-law is the biggest supporter,” Isaiah said. Thilia also noted: “My father Mark Fraser and my brother Takyle Fraser too. They were part of our world, in everything that we have been through.”
They also added that Lecturers and classmates also stepped in along the way to give support in various forms. For Isiah and Thilia, this convocation represents far more than degrees. It represents answered prayers, restored hope, and a testimony forged through trials. “People see our pictures and judge us based on what they see, but they don’t know what we went through,” Thilia said.
Isaiah agreed saying: “I was not planning to come back, but after I got married, my wife motivated me. After writing my final exam, I could not believe I was done. I could jump for joy. My wife is my biggest cheerleader.”
Ahead lies more growth, more ambition, and more purpose. “I don’t want to stop here; I want to do my PhD, Thilia said.
Isaiah is prayerfully waiting on direction. “I am between two worlds. I am thinking about business, and I am also thinking about being a dentist,” he said.
The University of Guyana has produced upwards of 70,000 graduates in its 62-year existence – many of whom have gone on to serve at the highest levels in both the private and public sectors nationally and internationally. (Feature by the Department of Events of Events, Conferences and Communication (DECC), Office of the Vice-Chancellor, University of Guyana)
