“I was determined that I had to become something in life” – UG graduand

The path to graduation is often difficult, marked by late nights and gruelling exams. But for Maria Blucher, who is set to receive her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Guyana later this month, that path wasn’t just difficult; it was forged through fire, grief, and the weight of community stigma.
Maria is the second eldest of five siblings, and she is the first in her family to earn a university degree. Her story isn’t about inherent privilege or a network of guidance; it’s about a stubborn, self-made resolve born in the challenging communities of Agricola and Albouystown. “I feel super proud of myself to know where I came from…it is like magic; I can’t believe it,” Maria says as she reflects on a life that demanded resilience almost from the start.

Maria’s earliest struggles were defined by loss and instability. She spent her early years with her mother in a rental home in Agricola, a community often unfairly defined by negative stereotypes, a stigma Maria was aware of. During her primary school years, tragedy struck. “We lived in a rental home in Agricola, and we lost our home in a fire. That was a very difficult time for us. My mom started over from scratch. All we had was the clothing on our backs that night.” The family relocated to Albouystown, another community grappling with social challenges, only to face more hardship when their new rental place was severely affected by flooding. Three years later, while Maria was still a child, her mother passed away.
“That was a very devastating time for me as a child,” she recalled. Along with her other siblings, Maria moved in with their paternal grandmother, Wendy Blucher, a pensioner who had to raise them under severe financial strain. While her father offered support when he could, the household was stretched thin. Despite the bleak landscape, a quiet determination began to form within Maria. She recognised that without positive role models to guide her education, she had to become one.
“I was determined that I had to become something in life; I had to set the example for my younger siblings. I said I will go to school; I will not leave school; I will not get pregnant.” The traditional safety net of strong financial and academic guidance was simply not there. The motivation for her relentless drive came from a more personal and painful place: her mother’s reality as a vendor.
“I got the drive when my mom died. What drove me is I know people say ‘when mother dead, family done.’ My mother was a vendor, selling drinks in front of Demico. I would help her sell, and when she died, I said I did not want that for me.” Her initial goal was just to complete CXC, get a good job, and secure stability. University wasn’t even a consideration until a friend, a UG graduate, stepped in and encouraged her.
Suddenly, she began desiring to work in the science field, perhaps as a doctor or a nurse, but eventually settling on dentistry. After writing eight subjects at CXC and passing five, she was rejected from the CAPE programme to pursue Science subjects at St Stanislaus College because she had only passed Biology, failing Chemistry and Physics, but was accepted to do two units of CAPE – Pure and Applied Math. “My world was shattered at the time,” she recalled, having been so excited about her dentistry plan.
She refused to be defeated. With the help of an understanding aunt, Laurel Duncan, who lives in the US and who agreed to support her with finances to rewrite CXC and to write CAPE, she moved closer to relatives to cut transportation costs, studied relentlessly, and rewrote the exams. Even when the initial results showed another failure, she was not deterred. She demanded a review.
“The results of the review came back and showed I passed. Oh my God, I jumped for joy,” she recalled. Acceptance into the University of Guyana was a triumph, but the battle for the degree had only just begun. The transition from the secondary school system to UG was a brutal shock, especially while juggling a demanding job at a call centre.
“First year of UG was very, very difficult for me. I wanted to drop out. Jumping from CXC level to UG level was really a hard transition,” she noted. Maria struggled with core academic requirements she had never been taught in secondary school, such as plagiarism and proper referencing. She failed a course, missing assignments because she hadn’t grasped the seriousness of university-level deadlines.
But her Christian faith became her anchor. She eventually left her call centre job and transitioned into teaching with the support of her partner. But the challenges continued as she fought to complete labs and exams while working. Ultimately, she persevered, driven by a self-imposed promise to not just graduate but to excel with her Bachelor of Science. Today, Maria is a teacher at Diamond Secondary School, pursuing a path that will see her continue in the education field before potentially revisiting her dream of becoming a dentist.
“It does not matter where you come from; as long as you have a passion and you want to pursue it, go ahead,” she said. Her advice, hardened by years of struggle, is simple and powerful. “No community can define you. University does not decline your application because of where you are from. You determine where you want to end up.” Maria is living proof that self-determination can change the narrative, turning the ashes of loss into the triumph of academic achievement.
(Feature by the Department of Events, Conferences and Communication (DECC), Office of the Vice-Chancellor, University of Guyana)