Amrita Ghandatt, 24, an aspiring cardiothoracic surgeon, has been named the University of Guyana’s 2026 Valedictorian. Amrita read for a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in the College of Medical Sciences and secured a perfect GPA of 4.0, copping the coveted prize of the President’s Medal for the Best Graduating Student with a Bachelor’s degree.
It is an extraordinary achievement, but for Amrita, its significance extends far beyond academic recognition. It represents years of discipline, sacrifice, faith and a determination to make the people who believed in her proud.
Her journey into medicine was not one she had mapped out from childhood. During her two years of CAPE at Queen’s College, the young scholar pursued the natural sciences and excelled in Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. She particularly enjoyed learning about the anatomy and physiology of the human body, and she came to see medicine as a calling. “I don’t think that there’s any profession for me out there that would give me the fulfilment the way medicine does. I’m so happy, I have no regrets about my choice,” Amrita shared.
Entering medical school in 2021 meant adjusting to university life during the COVID-19 pandemic, when classes were online and the demands of the programme were unfamiliar. Medical terminology, extensive coursework and difficult subjects such as Anatomy and Pathology tested her ability to adapt. Clinical training brought a different understanding of what it meant to become a doctor. Working with patients taught her that medicine was not simply about identifying diseases, but understanding the people and families behind them. For Amrita, learning to comfort patients and their relatives became just as important as applying the knowledge acquired in the classroom.
The journey to becoming Valedictorian also demanded considerable personal sacrifice. There were limited social outings, long hours in hospital wards and exhausting clinical rotations. Through it all, she developed the resilience and discipline needed to keep going. “I think what I really learned was to become very much resilient, determined,” she said.
Medical training also taught her to think critically and approach difficult cases from different perspectives. As she explained, “Two and two is never equal to four in these cases,” a reminder that medicine requires careful thought and consideration of every possibility to achieve the best outcomes for patients.
Behind that determination was a family whose sacrifices helped make her achievement possible. Her mother, Dharamdai Singh, raised Amrita and her older brother as a single parent. Growing up, Amrita witnessed the effort it took to provide for them while supporting their education. She remembers the early mornings, the meals prepared before work and the quiet prayers her mother offered for her children’s success.
Amrita describes her mother as an “unmovable pillar of courage and strength” and sees her academic achievements as a way of honouring those sacrifices. “This is my way of giving back to my mother. I would take all of my academic achievements and, in a way, present them to my mother. That is my way of showing her that all the sacrifices she made as a mother, as the sole breadwinner of her family, this is the fruit of it,” she said.
Her brother, Dyanand (Amar) Ghandatt, a University of Guyana Computer Science graduate, also played an important role in her academic success. During clinical rotations that sometimes ended late at night, he waited outside the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for her, even while managing his own work and studies, so she could get home safely.
Amrita is equally grateful to the lecturers and mentors who guided her, the doctors and nurses who supported her clinical training, and the patients who allowed her to learn from their experiences. She particularly remembers Dr Vickita Nandan, Dr Joel Joseph, Dr Sharada Samaroo, Dr Risa Retemeyer, Dr Keith Cummings and Dr Jamain Hatton, whose encouragement made a difference during difficult moments.
“I am very grateful, first and foremost, to the University of Guyana for the opportunity to study in my own country and to pursue a degree like medicine here. I am also grateful to the administration and leadership of the University, especially the College of Medical Sciences, for the support I received throughout my five years. My lecturers did more than teach from textbooks; they found different ways to help us learn and prepare us for the responsibility of interacting with patients,” Amrita said.
She also credits her faith, expressing gratitude to Lord Krishna and Lord Ganesha for helping her confront self-doubt, uncertainty and anxiety.
Her classmates in the Class of 2026, she added, became like family, encouraging one another and holding each other accountable throughout the demanding programme. She also thanked her high school friends Analise, Ameena, Sandy, Ariana, Brianna, Bhipasha and Krystal, and her medical school colleagues Samuela, Alicialall and Novindra.
Being named Valedictorian is a recognition she does not take lightly. “It’s a very humbling experience,” she said, describing the privilege and responsibility of representing her fellow graduands and the possibilities that dedication and hard work can bring.
To her fellow graduands, she offered congratulations and a reminder of what they had overcome. “You’ve made it to the light at the end of the dark tunnel. This degree is not just a personal accomplishment, it represents a responsibility to actively participate in the development of our home, Guyana. Let us pursue specializations in our respective fields, and engage in research and leadership to develop our country,” she said.
Her message to those still at UG is equally heartfelt: “Continue to dream big. There is no career that’s too big that you can’t achieve.” Reflecting on her own academic achievement, she added, “I thought it was once impossible, so if I can do it, you very much can. Just put in the hard work, be very disciplined, be honest with yourself, promote integrity.”
Having experienced financial constraints herself, Amrita is grateful for the Government of Guyana (GoG) Undergraduate/Bachelor’s Degree Scholarship that helped fund four years of medical school and the subsequent tuition-free initiative that supported her final year. In 2014, she was placed 11th in the country at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), and then Minister of Education Priya Manickchand visited her school to congratulate her. “At that time I was just a shy little girl who did not fully grasp the significance of the moment. However, as I grew older, I came to appreciate just how special that experience was, not just for me but for my entire family,” she said.
With her medical internship ahead, Amrita hopes to become a compassionate, patient-centred doctor who provides evidence-based care and works effectively with other health professionals. She is particularly interested in the heart and hopes to pursue a career in the area of cardiothoracic surgery, contributing to the development of specialised healthcare in Guyana.
For Amrita, the perfect 4.0 GPA and the title of Valedictorian are more than academic milestones. They reflect a young woman who found her calling, persevered through the demands of medical school and remained mindful of those who stood beside her. As she takes her next steps in her professional career, her ambition remains rooted in the values that guided her from the beginning: making her family proud and making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. (Feature by the Department of Events, Conferences and Communication (DECC), University of Guyana)
