Former St Rose’s High student reflects on journey to Bar

“My journey to becoming an attorney-at-law was filled with a lot of sleepless nights, lots of studying, tears of pain, and tears of joy. I remember times when it felt like everyone was outperforming me, and I remember times when I felt like I chose the wrong profession.”
Those were the words of Olivia Bess, who was admitted to the local Bar on Friday. Her petition to practice law in the courts of Guyana was presented by her brother, Keavon Bess, who is also an attorney-at-law, before Justice Sandra Kurtzious. In a moving speech, Olivia noted that her success came from the many sacrifices made by her family, friends, and many other people.
She told the court, “We begin with my parents. They started their life together with one motto “our children must be better than us at all cost” and they were able to accomplish just that.” According to her, her parents were not given the opportunity to have a sound education. She said, too, that her parents did not enter this world with a “gold spoon.”
“They didn’t have all the wonders of the world to give to their children, but they had their teachings. They taught my four siblings and me to be humble, to give without expecting a reward, to love, to be respectful, to work hard for what you want, and to never be envious of the success of others for with hard work your time to shine will come.”
Olivia underscored that her parents’ teachings were correct. She confessed that it made her determined to continue along the path of success regardless of the challenging circumstances that presented themselves. “Like many, I have endured my share of failures and setbacks, however; I was taught through the words and actions of my brother that failure is a delusion of the mind. Failure occurs to teach you lessons and to reveal what was hidden or ignored. How you view and process failure will ultimately determine your outcome,” she pointed out.
Born on July 22, 1995, to Compton and Rosemnari Bess, Olivia is the youngest of five siblings. She is a former student of St Rose’s High School. She acquired 11 passes at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC). She is also the holder of a Diploma and an Associate’s Degree in Humanities from the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).
In 2014, she enrolled at the University of Guyana (UG) to read for her law degree. While studying for her law degree, she also read for and obtained a Certificate in Psychology from UG and a certificate in Business Etiquette at Carnegie School of Management and Home Economics. She completed her law degree in 2017.
However, unfortunately, she was not granted a space in the top 25 of the class to attend the
Hugh Wooding Law School. But being indefatigable, Olivia wrote the entrance examination the following year and was accepted into law school to train for her Legal Education Certificate (LEC). She was successful in the completion of her studies last year November.
She is no stranger to Victoria Law Chambers as throughout her legal journey she would spend much of her summer vacations as an intern. Furthermore, Olivia was once a Social Studies, Law, and Sociology teacher at Chase’s Academic Foundation where, according to her, she learnt a lot about the world of work and human interactions.
Whilst attending the University of Guyana, she participated in pageants, contested in the bodybuilding federation’s bikini fitness competitions, and was an active member of Moot Court Guyana where she held the position of liaison officer.
During her time at the Hugh Wooding Law School, Olivia was the Vice President of the Guyana Jurisdiction Committee, a student mentor, and an ordinary member of the Moot Court and Welfare Committees. Additionally, Olivia continues her volunteer work as she is one of the co-founders of Guyana Activate, a voluntary organisation designed to assist small businesses.
Olivia told the court that she does not take her position as an attorney-at-law lightly. The young lawyer vowed to carry herself with the utmost dignity and honour when executing functions and duties for her future clients and the court.
“I vow to be respectful to the court, the rule of law, and my colleagues.”