SATÉRA MARSHALL was not one of the teenagers in the list of Barbados Scholarship winners and Exhibitioners, but she is still smiling.
The 18-year-old former Combermerian gained six Grade 1s and four Grade 2s in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).
Marshall did not quite make the grade for the Government awards, but landed scholarships to Cuba and China.
She is winging her way to China today to take up a six-year scholarship in medicine.
The first year will be at Shandong University, where she will learn the language and the other five will be spent at Jiamusi University, where she will be taught in Chinese.
The Shop Hill, St Thomas resident said she always wanted to study medicine.
“My grandmother, she has angina. I have another one who has diabetes and I decided I wanted to help them out. I spoke to a doctor and he said this is probably the best choice for me,” Marshall told the DAILY NATION yesterday.
She would have had to learn Spanish for the Cuban university as well, but she said she opted to go farther afield.
Marshall is cognizant that she might have to do an exam in order to practise here when she returns, but she insisted that the hassles the Cuban-trained doctors are currently experiencing did not factor into her decision.
“Two former prime ministers of Trinidad went to Cuba for medical treatment. It has to be good. So I don’t know why Barbados is crying it down,” Marshall said.
China offers the added benefit of learning acupuncture, herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, as well as Western general medicine.
The only child of Susan Marshall and Anthony Marshall is anxiously looking forward to her new journey, but she knows there will be some sad moments.
“I’m looking for the new experience but, you know, it’s going to be sad to leave your friends and family behind. My mum is going down with me,” she said, adding that the move to China was going to be hard on her parents. (YB)
