22/10/2021
I am Louise M. George, a research student at the Institute of Marine Biology, at the National Taiwan Ocean University. My academic journey however, was set in motion in the tiny community of Aupicon, Vieux-Fort where I was born. During the early years of my childhood although I did not attend preschool, I was taught to read at home. Later, my journey of formal education began at the Plain View Combined School where I studied for a few years before my family relocated to Black-Bay (Augier), Laborie. I was then transferred to the Laborie Girls’ Primary School, where I discovered that girls not only had a right to shine, but also had a duty to do so. “Laborie Girls’ must shine” was our sacred mantra. Later, I attended the Choiseul Secondary School and then the A’ Level Department in Vieux-Fort. My path to higher education continued through the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (DTEEA) where I specialized in secondary education and then later at the National Taiwan Ocean University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Biology and Fisheries Science.
While I love academic life, my love for learning extends beyond the classroom. As such, I joined many other programs that enriched my life. I previously served as a volunteer in the Saint Lucia Red Cross and became a NITS member. I also served briefly in the Volunteer Saint Lucia (Vieux- Fort Chapter and the Rotaract club in Laborie, before leaving island to further my studies).
In addition to my volunteer pursuits, I became a certified Diabetes and Hypertension Educator, PADI certified open water diver and certified Mandarin teacher. I also served as Taiwan’s Global Culture Ambassador in 2019, after putting Saint Lucia’s culture on display, against nine other semi-finalists from other nations.
I have also been extremely fortunate to serve many young people during my combined years of teaching at the Choiseul Secondary, Micoud Secondary and Piaye Secondary Schools as well as the Southern Education Institute in St. Lucia and the Nan Hu and Gin San Elementary Schools in Taiwan. While I taught my students key concepts that I hoped would help them in the next part of their life’s journey, I also learned many great virtues from them such as patience, self-sacrifice and kindness.
My journey however, has not been without challenges. It has rather been quite the opposite. My summarized list of achievements is not a boast of self, but a boast of what courage can achieve in the face of fear. I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder at 18 years which made many activities challenging for me. Simple tasks such as riding a bicycle, making a phone call or figuring out how to open a door often challenged me, to the point of ridicule by others. Very often, my anxiety was mislabelled as me being snobbish, or anti-social.
Nonetheless, I have and I continue to face my fears so that they do not conquer me. I jump in scared and pray that God helps me. I have not let anxiety get in the way of me following my dreams. I have steered a fishing vessel out of one of the largest seaports in Japan, studied a dual major degree in a foreign language, competed using a foreign language and won, and started my own motivational service through Silk Steps, all with faith and consistent action.
My advice to anyone who has even the smallest spark of hope to achieve a dream is to not give up, even in the face of challenges. I believe that challenges help to refine us and develop our resilience as we experience personal growth. There is always something to learn in every situation, win or lose. Whatever your personal goals are, write them down with deadlines by which to achieve them and then break them down further into smaller, achievable tasks with deadlines too; be consistent and work to improve areas of weakness. Surround yourself with people ahead of you, who are working on similar goals and can mentor or inspire you. Also, read about your interests and become familiar with what you need to do in order to achieve your goals. Remember, do not let fear stop you because you can do whatever you put your mind to. Start where you are, and even with baby steps you can make it.
