For a long time, Danielle Chai harboured the dream of studying at the prestigious Oxford University and when she saw the chance to have it come true, she took it.
That chance was a Commonwealth Scholarship for which she applied last year. Once she had put the final full stop on the application documents, she left the rest in God’s hands.
“I did not worry or obsess over it, even though it was a dream of mine,” the 25-year-old told Jamaica Observer’s Career & Education.
As it happens, she need not have worried. Chai, an attorney and associate of the law firm Samuda & Johnson, began classes at the United Kingdom-based university some weeks ago, having received a full scholarship.
She is now pursuing her master’s degree in law — one of only five people nominated through the ministry of finance for either master’s or PhD-level study through the international Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan.
“I feel quite humbled, incredibly blessed. This means the world to me and I am so grateful for this opportunity,” said the young lady, who describes herself as shy.
But Chai’s receipt of the scholarship is only one in a string of academic successes over the years.
The past student of Bishop Gibson High School in Manchester — her home parish — graduated at the top of her class from Norman Manley Law School in 2009. She had earlier graduated with first-class honours from the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.
Chai — the recipient of some 13 prizes and awards for exemplary performance throughout her academic career — began the trend even before UWI.
She holds nine distinctions at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate level in mathematics, English language, English literature, physics, chemistry, biology, French, Spanish, and history.
At the level of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations, she earned distinctions in French, Spanish, Caribbean studies, communication studies, and history unit one. She received a grade three in history unit two.
Chai is now studying civil procedure, medical law and ethics, law of restitution of unjust enrichment, and corporate finance law. She told Career & Education that her interest in each of these courses stems from areas of law she has encountered in legal practice.
During her years of practice, Chai focused primarily on civil litigation, with civil procedure her “bread and butter”. As such, she said she felt it useful to study this area at a higher level.
“I did quite a number of medical negligence cases while practising as well and I found the area fascinating so medical law and ethics, naturally, sounded quite appealing,” Chai noted.
The same rationale applies to the law of restitution of unjust enrichment.
“With the advent of the Junior Stock Exchange and the tax incentives that it offers, we have seen a spate of listings from local companies so corporate finance is an area which is so topical right now and I find myself wanting to know more about it,” Chai said.
She added that as soon as her degree is completed, she intends to return to Jamaica and apply the knowledge and skills she would have garnered to legal practice in the island.
“I am also contemplating a career on the bench in the long term as I think it’s a great way to serve my country and contribute to national development,” Chai told Career & Education.
Despite her remarkable intellectual abilities, Chai does not always have her nose in a book. She enjoys cooking and hanging out with friends — two of her favourite pastimes. Chai also loves animals and in her spare time often goes for a jog.
Her only challenge now is the chilly English weather. But she presses on, warmed by the prospect of helping more people once her studies are at an end.
“Law is a way to help people solve their problems. In a sense, people go to lawyers when they are unable to solve difficult issues by themselves and they need you to use the law to find a solution to their problem. Law is also such an intriguing area, it pervades almost every aspect of our daily lives,” Chai said.
Source: Jamaica Observer
