(EDITOR’S NOTE: I decided to share this FACE TO FACE feature published in The Tribune on Tuesday, July 20, on Dr Patrice Juliet Pinder with readers of BAHAMAS CHONICLE because, like Mrs. Darville, when I first read about Dr. Pinder’s background, I was tremendously impressed.)
By FELICITY DARVILLE
NASSAU, Bahamas — Face to Face is a very special place in the newspaper for me, because it gives me a chance to highlight wonderful people. In some cases, I am truly amazed to find treasures existing in a country where people so often complain. I come across experts in fields where we still bring in foreigners to do the job. So, in meeting Dr Patrice Juliet Pinder, it proved to me that we must seek out and highlight these outstanding Bahamians doing extraordinary things all around the world.
Patrice excels on a global scale in the STEM field – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. She’s passing on her skills and love of science to the next generation and dreams of seeing a Bahamas where STEM professionals can help mould and shape the future Bahamas into everything it needs to be as a progressive country.
But it won’t be easy. Moving the country forward, she believes, requires a “mindset shift” where professionals like her are respected instead of marginalised. It also requires getting more young Bahamians involved in the STEM field – and she is doing her part to help make that happen.
“I want to see young students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds (like I came from) get into STEM, enrol in STEM courses at college and ultimately pursue STEM careers,” she said.
“Locally, there will have to be a strong cultural shift and mind shift for some people in various positions to begin to embrace and welcome their own and see the significant contributions that people like me can truly bring to our educational system and other systems and sectors. Those of us with world-class expertise can only help The Bahamas. But, until the mindsets can change in the positive direction, until some Bahamians take politics and petty behaviour out of things, until some Bahamians learn to respect bright minds with futuristic thoughts – especially women of excellence – things will continue to be what it has been.
“Our systems and sectors will continuously fail as a result and our place on the world’s stage will continuously be in the lower tier. We need to be seen as more than a country of ‘sun, sand, and sea’. It is time we brought more to the world!”
Patrice has achieved significant feats in her profession, but her journey has been an uphill climb. She is one of five children born to north Long Islanders Naomi Miller-Pinder and late Chief Inspector of Police, Rodger Levi Pinder, Sr.
The Pinders raised their children in New Providence in a modest home and community. There, Patrice, their youngest daughter, attended Claridge Primary School, then CI Gibson Secondary School. Very early on, Patrice’s teachers noticed she had a strong liking for mathematics and the sciences, and they encouraged her to excel in those subjects. Initially, the young Patrice had aspirations to be a medical doctor. She enrolled in courses for pre-medical studies and the biological sciences. She obtained an Associates Degree in Biology from the College of The Bahamas and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with departmental honours, with a minor in English from Jacksonville State University in the US.
She returned to The Bahamas and joined the staff of the Princess Margaret Hospital. First, she worked in the Medical Microbiology Department, then in the Department of Pharmacy, outpatient and inpatient services.
After working in the healthcare sector for some time, Patrice realised medicine was not her calling. She decided to switch her focus to plant and soil sciences and the environment, and eventually to science and STEM education.
She furthered her studies and obtained a Master of Science Degree with dual specialisations in Plant and Soil Sciences from Alabama A&M University. She then completed a Doctoral Degree in Science Education from Morgan State University. Patrice was an outstanding student and she pushed herself even further. She completed two Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships and Training in STEM Education at Indiana University and the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago. She also did post-graduate courses and training in City Regional Planning with a specialisation in Environmental Planning at Alabama A&M University. See complete feature in The Tribune at http://www.tribune242.com/news/2021/jul/20/face-face-shes-top-her-field-world-stage-it-has-no/
CAPTION: DR Pinder presenting an academic lecture at Jiangsu University, China.
