Congrats to Drexanna Seymour on the completion of her BA (Honours) in Criminology
Introduction
This article is a tribute to our daughter Drexanna in reaching this milestone of completing her bachelor’s degree in criminology. I hope this article is also an encouragement to other students and parents.
November 19, 1998, at around 1135pm, was one of the best days for our family because that is the day, our first child came into that world. We named her Drexanna Gabrielle Seymour. Of course, Drexanna is combination of my name and my wife’s name Joanna. She is our only daughter among four brothers.
The journey for her degree took two years longer due to a few obstacles and setbacks, but the amazing thing is she did it and with honours. We are truly proud of our beautiful daughter Drexanna.
Early Childhood and Primary School
Drexana started her early childhood education before she was two years old at Precious Treasures Primary. As I reflected on this, I don’t know if that was too early to send her to school because later in life, Drexanna did not like school.
Precious Treasures used to keep the kids until 5pm which was convenient for my wife and I as we both were working. Of course, the first year of Drexanna’s life, my wife stayed home with her. When Precious Treasures decided to discontinue the after-school program, we moved Drexanna to Best Institute. At some point as a concerned parent, we felt that Drexanna should have been reading more fluently and so we moved her to another school and that did not work out and so we returned her to BEST Institute. The lessons we learned from this are that children develop at different levels, do not compare your children to others and do not pressure your children to perform so highly at a such a beginning level.
Secondary School
Drexanna successfully passed the exams to go to the Secondary School. As I can recalled, she got the third highest at BEST Institute. Drexanna really wanted to go to the public high school, so we enrolled her at Clement Howell School to show her that we support her. However, after a year, we felt it was time her to move so we enrolled her in a private high school. Somehow, she did not like it and it was reflected in her grades and so we moved her again to another private high school where she remained there until her graduation from secondary school in 2015. However, it was not easy for Drexanna because she was under a lot to pressure to perform like me. I was not the one pressuring her but rather other people including some of her teachers. but Drexanna successfully passed all her subjects except for History. In fact, she did better in her external exams than what her mom and I did in High School.
I recalled her English teacher telling her that she should not put her up to take the IGCSE but Drexanna passed her English with A*. One of her weakest subjects was Math but she also passed math. Thank you Ms Jestina Delancy for being so caring. I remembered when the results came out, you were one of the first persons to inquire whether Drexanna was successful in Math. Thank you also to Miss Laura for being positive influence in Drexanna’s educational journey.
One thing I learned from all this is that teachers also must be very careful how they treat students and what they say to students as it can impact their confidence level. In addition, teachers must learn not to show any favoritism to certain students.
With that said, there was a teacher I want to single out at BEST Institute, Ms Perrin. I remembered the words she told me. She said Drexwell, I want to make sure all my students understand the concepts before I move on to something else. This is something that always resonated with me up to this very day.
Tertiary School
Drexanna moved to the UK and enrolled in college. Initially, Drexanna wanted to study criminology, but she did not pursue it due to fear. She enrolled in IT and media, but we wanted her to enroll in hospitality management. After one year in Luton, she moved to Leeds and changed her major and enrolled in college there. Eventually she dropped out of college. Of course, we were disappointed, and it affected our relationship because I was upset with her. Her mom was more understanding. Of course, my anger was short lived as I can never be mad and upset with my children for long. I always wondered though if I pressured Drexanna to go to college. The lesson I learned from this is that not to pressure your children to go to college when you want them to go. I remembered calling both my host fathers in Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively about the situation and they told me they went through the same thing with one of their children dropping out of college, but they encouraged me because sometimes you think no one else goes through what you are going through.
Eventually, Drexanna came around on her own and decided to enroll in a college in Manchester to do A levels in criminology for two years. She texted me and said Daddy I am going to give college another opportunity. I was happy as she is our first daughter and we wanted her to achieve this milestone because sometimes she lacks confidence and we believe if she obtain this degree, this will boost her confidence level. We also wanted her to be an example to her siblings. She successfully completed her A level program in 2019 with excellent grades. You can see now why she took longer than her high school peers but that is ok. Parents it is ok if your children take longer than others. Encourage them in whatever they pursue.
University
Drexanna was accepted in all the five Universities that she applied to, but she chose to attend University of Hull and majored in criminology. On July 21st 2022, Drexanna graduated with a Bachelors of Arts (Honours) in Criminology.
Drexanna did not really want to be in person to attend the graduation as she was already in Turks and Caicos and didn’t want us to incur additional finances on her education. We were able to convince her to attend the graduation and here I am in Hull celebrating this milestone with our firstborn. I believe when a person achieves a milestone, it should be celebrated.
Other talents and gifts
Our daughter does not only have her degree, but she is also very talented. She can sew. She is very good in graphic designs. She is also a photographer and a videographer. She is also a great dancer unlike her father. (Maybe she got it from her Mom)
Conclusion
Drexanna, your entire family is proud of you. You have a story that will inspire others to rise. I do pray that you will one day be able to use the knowledge that you obtained. I know it is very discouraging for students to return home and not able to find a job that suits their degree. However, don’t give up. You overcame many obstacles, and you will overcome this one.
Congrats Drexanna Gabrielle Seymour. One of the greatest things I love about you is that you don’t compare yourself to others. Continue to be you and remember you mother and I will always be there for you. You know your mom would have love to be there in person with you but due to circumstances beyond our control, only one of us could have attended.
Finally, thank you God for allowing Drexanna to complete this milestone. I remembered one request we used to ask God daily, was to let you complete your degree. We love you Drexanna and may God continue to guide you and provide you with wisdom as you venture in this world.