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December 2010
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ValedictorianLove what you doRobert Shirley
The most important quality imprinted on them by the programme, he said, was endurance. “Throughout our time here there were obstacles. But we pushed on through. And we are here because we carried on. My encouragement to you is that when you meet more problems, to face them head on and grapple with them until you accomplish everything that you have set out to achieve, my encouragement to all of us is to strive on. Many of us are currently searching for jobs and are becoming dismayed. But even in disappointment let us not lose heart. As one wise man once said, ‘If opportunity doesn’t come knocking, build a door’,” were his words of advice. Robert, who was awarded the BSc (Eng.) Chemical and Process Engineering degree with First Class Honours, would like to become involved in management while still using his technical skills as an engineer. He plans to move on to a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering. Already he is getting the kind of experience he needs at PCS Nitrogen, where he has been working as a chemical engineer for a few months and applying the principles he learned to practical matters. “It is a completely different thing when you study how heat exchangers works as compared to physically seeing an exchanger wide open and figuring out why it’s not performing as it should,” he said. For those curious as to what his job entails, he collects and analyses data to monitor the plant’s performance; identifies reasons and solutions for problems that occur throughout the plant, and he identifies and implements means of improving the plant’s efficiency either by increasing production or by reducing the energy consumption. Managing has been easier because of the lessons he learned at UWI, especially in terms of time management and teamwork. “My degree often involved working in all different kinds of groups. I learnt to find each member’s strengths and to allow him or her to do what he/she does best. I recognized that it is important to trust and be willing to depend on others to do their own job and that it is better to motivate them rather than take away their responsibility if it doesn’t get done the first time.” One profound lesson to him was learning to trust in being himself. “In a large institution with large classes, it can be very easy to do what everyone else is doing. It can be easy to study from the same books in the same way that they do, organize your time the way they do or to do projects in the same way that they have always been done. I used note-taking and study techniques that were most effective for me, I kept a very open mind when starting projects or solving problems, I boldly asked for assistance/clarification when I needed it once it was appropriate to do so and I associated with people who were also open minded and who were as determined as I was in achieving my goals.” His advice to students? Love what you study. Photography by PIPS |
Robert Shirley, valedictorian for the Faculties of Engineering and Law, told his graduating colleagues that he had done a little survey of their feelings about their Engineering degree programme and they were unanimous that it was stressful, but they were equally unanimous that they would do it again.