The Caribbean Examiner • Vol 9 • No 1 • May 2011

The Caribbean Examiner
Trini Student
at University of Waterloo
Sings CAPE Praises
“It’s a great resource for students going to
university. It’s also an opportunity to try new subjects
and to discover what you enjoy studying.”
That’s how Justin Ali views CAPE now.
Justin is completing his first year as a student
at the University of Waterloo in Canada and he feels
coming from the CAPE system made the transition
to Waterloo a lot smoother.
Not only has CAPE adequately prepared him
for university, it also helped him to find his passion
in life - the environment.
A former student of St. Mary’s College in
Trinidad and Tobago, Justin originally planned to
study Mathematics, but after pursuing Environmental
Science at CAPE, he decided that is what he
wanted.
“Materials covered in my Environmental Science
class helped me to see how important and relevant
environmental management is in today’s society,”
Justin said in an interview for the Caribbean Examiner.
As a result of the CAPE Environmental Science
programme, Justin was inspired to pursue his tertiary
education in that field along with business.
“It’s exciting to be in a programme that will
allow me to make a difference and even change the
world,” Justin said.
Though Justin’s high school and university
experiences are different, there are a few similarities.
Some of the material covered in his CAPE Biology,
Caribbean Studies, Chemistry, Communication
Studies and Environmental Science classes were
repeated and expanded upon in his introductory
courses at university. As a result he immediately felt
more confident and university became a lot less
intimidating, he said.
The skills developed in Internal Assessment
required for all CAPE subjects are also now benefiting
Justin at the University of Waterloo.
In one of his university courses, Justin was
required to write a paper on bush fires using at least
15 different sources. Because he’d completed similar
tasks in high school, he already had experience
researching key topics, writing bibliographies,
referencing the source of his research and combining
his thoughts together in large essays. This made his
assignment a lot more manageable.
Like most first-year students, coming to
university presented a few surprises too. In high
school, Justin’s teachers were very involved in his
success and the success of his classmates. They
provided everyone with handouts and material to
emphasize the key points discussed in each class. In
contrast, university focuses on independent learning.
You’re responsible for your own success. Justin has
found that his success depends on good notetaking
and listening skills. Having good class notes, which
also function as study material for midterms and final
exams, is about learning how to pick out the most
important points from each lecture.
The school year is also different. At Waterloo,
you take five subjects per semester and each
semester consists of 13 weeks of classes plus
final exams. Justin found that his high school and
university workloads were similar, but everything
– papers, midterms, presentations and final
exams – came a lot faster. To manage, he carefully
assigns time to complete required readings,
essays, group presentations and research. Time
management is critical at university!
Entering university is an exciting and
challenging time for students. For Justin, CAPE
gave him the skills and experience to approach
university with confidence. CAPE not only
introduced Justin to Environmental Science, the
course that helped him find his passion, but it also
gave him the skills and a foundation that led to
his success at the University of Waterloo.
Improving his time management skills also
allows Justin to maintain a healthy and balanced
lifestyle. Along with his school work, he still has
time for the things he enjoys most – playing
video games, hanging out with friends, going
to the gym, and being a part of the University of
Waterloo Dragon Boat Team. Justin also makes
time to play the guitar and has even performed
for an audience at a coffee house hosted in
residence.
Reflecting on his experiences in CAPE and
as a first-year university student, Justin has some
good advice for current CAPE students.
He suggests that students try different
topics and see what they enjoy most. He also
encourages students to practice their notetaking
skills.
“It’s essential that you take good notes
of what you learn in lectures so that you have
something to study from,” he explained. He
added that it is also important to work on your
listening skills, “lectures can be up to three hours
and it’s important that you’re able to focus on
what your professor is saying.”
The Trinidadian student also wants
Caribbean students “to have confidence that
once you got through CAPE you’ll be ready for
the work to come in university. At first it may
seem scary because there is less time, but you’ll
realize it’s the same type of work you’ve been
doing.”
Justin’s major is in Environment and
Business and he plans to pursue a career in
Environmental Management.
He is among 145 Caribbean students
studying at the University of Waterloo and
currently has an 80 per cent average.
University of Waterloo offers transfer credits
for CAPE courses. More details are available at
http://findoutmore.uwaterloo.ca/admissions/
transfercredits.php
50 MAY 2011 www.CXC.org