Recognition

Guyana’s Ambassador to Washington Bayney Karran said distinguished honorees — Dawn Holder-Alert, Dr. Michelle Mickle Foster, Amlata Persaud and Dr. Alissa Trotz, are emblematic of the tradition of academic and professional excellence with which Queen’s College is synonymous.

During his recent remarks at Terrace On the Park to commemorate 40 years of co-education and the enrollment of girls at the prestigious high school, Karran added that the alumni are trailblazers and taskmasters in every field of human endeavor as typified by the honorees.

The alumnus told the packed Black Tie Gala that it was important for all societies to transcend traditional gender norms and ensure that males and females participate fully and equally in both the public and private spheres.

“This celebration of the 40th anniversary of co-education is most appropriate for our school. It is indisputable that coeducation benefits students by reflecting more accurately the social environment that they will encounter in the adult world.”

Karran, who said he was honored to share the podium with Clarence Trotz, his former headmaster and outstanding educator, also applauded the QC of Guyana Alumni Association N.Y. Chapter, for planning the auspicious weekend of activities that included a fusion lime, a multi-denominational service and family brunch.

Trotz, alumnus and University of Cambridge educated academic, who served as headmaster in the 1970s, praised his alma mater for the success of co-education, and avowed that over the last three decades women in many countries have excelled academically better than their male counterparts in sciences, engineering, mathematics, and other technological areas.

“This revolution has meant that the proverbial academic ‘gender gap’ at universities is steadily narrowing. At Queen’s College, this narrowing has been taking place ever since girls entered the school in 1975,” added Trotz, who noted that the institution had its first female scholars in the early 1980’s.