Guyanese law student in Barbados wins prestigious Rhodes Scholarship

The announcement was made in Barbados yesterday by the island's Governor General Dame Sandra Mason. The announcement followed a full day of interviews of candidates from across the Caribbean.

Guyanese law student in Barbados wins prestigious Rhodes Scholarship

Guyanese Law student at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, Rawletta Barrow has been selected as the 2022 Commonwealth Caribbean Rhodes Scholar.

The announcement was made in Barbados yesterday by the island’s Governor General Dame Sandra Mason. The announcement followed a full day of interviews of candidates from across the Caribbean.

The Guyanese law student was chosen from among 12 candidates, who were interviewed virtually by the selection committee. 

The other interviewees vying for the prestigious scholarship came from Barbados, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent and St. Kitts.

The Governor-General described the interview process as an “exciting, yet compelling exercise”, which showed that “the Caribbean is crammed with able, erudite, articulate, engaging, brilliant and passionate young people”, who are committed to regional development.

She said based on what she has seen in her capacity as Chairman of the Selection Committee, for the past four years, the region was in “good hands provided that we seek to maintain and retain this brainpower and capabilities” of the youth.

Ms. Barrow who is a Queens College graduate is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws programme at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus. Come next October, she will be heading to the University of Oxford to pursue a Bachelor in Civil Law.

The 20-year-old told the Barbados Government Information Service that she felt “honoured and blessed” to have been awarded the prestigious scholarship, as it was “truly a dream come true”.

“My ultimate goal is to spark legislative and policy changes that will promote the empowerment of young people in Guyana and across the region through equitable access to education and resources, and inclusion in decision-making spaces. I believe that my time at the University of Oxford will help to shape and strengthen my advocacy, and will be instrumental in helping me to reach my fullest potential,” Ms. Barrow stated, as she pledged to make Guyana and the entire Caribbean proud.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s preeminent and oldest graduate fellowship, based at the University of Oxford since 1903.

The scholarships for the Caribbean began in 1953.

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