On campus, some call him 'the student whisperer'. The students he has helped over the years simply call him "Mr B". Mr Nigel Bradshaw has been a driving force behind student recruitment at the UWI St Augustine campus for over a decade and a half, and throughout his time as Brand and Student Recruitment Marketing Officer, he has been responsible for encouraging countless students from Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region to pursue their future at The UWI.
What sets Nigel apart is his mission to connect on a personal level with every single one of the prospective students that he encounters.
"I promise to be the liaison for every student that I meet," he says, "and it really seems to connect with them."
It is this sincere personal touch that Nigel believes to be the secret to his success.
"My annual interactions expose me to about 15,000 students each year. Many of them that I meet will be receiving my personal business card and will be encouraged to reach out to me. I answer every single email that I receive from every prospect. All day, every day."
Students agree.
“What stands out about the way he relates to students is how approachable and supportive he is,” says Balchan Persad, a 2020 UWI St Augustine graduate who first met Nigel Bradshaw on a visit to his school, Princes Town West Secondary.
“He takes the time to build personal connections, making each student feel seen and valued rather than just another number,” Balchan says.
Long before taking up his role as a recruitment officer, Nigel was already an integral part of campus life. He first began his professional journey at The UWI as a Course Coordinator for the Continuing Education Programme in Agricultural Technology, then moved on to be a technical assistant in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension. It is here that he first began to work closely with students on campus by coordinating student internships at local and regional institutions.
Nigel finally moved into his current role in 2010 and has since had the privilege of welcoming well over 150,000 visitors to the UWI St Augustine campus, in addition to all of the prospective students that he has interacted with through his visits to Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia and St Kitts and Nevis.
Nigel's approach to recruitment is a multifaceted one. He is part of a team which organises outreach visits to secondary schools across the country, and he represents the university at various career and university fairs throughout the country.
“I think he’s very knowledgeable about the programmes, history, processes, etc of the university,” says graduate Danielle Skinner, who first met Nigel at a career fair at her school, Providence Girls Catholic School.
“When Mr B relays information it’s not boring. It’s usually entertaining and engaging at the same time. Finally he makes you feel like ‘wow this university is absolutely amazing, I need to go!’.” Says Danielle, who is now pursuing her PhD (her third degree) on campus.
Taking inspiration from his own mother, who is a retired principal of a primary school in south Trinidad, Nigel also began organising campus visits for primary school students after she requested that her students be allowed to tour the campus.
These events, Nigel stresses, are not so much about giving the students a list of reasons to apply to UWI, but are rather opportunities for him to connect with them on a human level.
"A lot of people think that my success as a recruiter is because I'm good at selling The UWI to students, but that is not what it is. What I try to do instead is to create a relationship with prospective students by answering their questions as best as I can and by being sincere. I honestly spend more time getting the students to talk to me rather than trying to get them to listen to me."
One thing that Nigel would like all prospective students and their guardians to know is that there are myriad options available to incoming students in terms of financial aid and other forms of assistance.
He says, "the truth is that many of our students have parents who never had the opportunity to attend university, and because of that, may feel intimidated by the prospect of sending their child to university or think that maybe it isn't a real possibility."
However, for prospective first generation students, financing is only one of several questions they need answered. Balchan recalls his experience.
“I had little to no information about tertiary education, its importance and what is available and offered to us as citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,” he recalls. “I was completely lost and very worried about which programme to apply to, financing, campus life, and housing. I lived in Princes Town and no one else from my family had attended university.”
Mr B, he says, answered all his questions, addressed all his concerns, and even organised a campus tour for him and his classmates.
Nigel has made it his mission to educate families on the many ways for them to make studying at The UWI a reality.
"These parents are blown away by the information that I am able to share with them regarding relative cost, financial support, and all the ways that the programmes at UWI can be beneficial for their kids."
Nigel offers one last pitch for those considering attending UWI:
"As great as the programmes at The UWI are, I really want prospective students to know that university life is not all about academics. Your time here at UWI will also be about the relationships that you form; it will be about how you develop as a human being, and how your mindset will develop and become more receptive to opportunities you have not yet thought about. During your time here, you will learn to coexist with many different types of people, and the relationships that you form will be the thing with the most value when you leave here. There is no greater truth as far as I am concerned."
