By: Mishael Henry
Fleeing 550 miles away from Venezuela – a country ravaged by hardships located just off the borders of Guyana, Shaneeza Rohini Persaud has made a name for herself by becoming the University of Guyana’s (UG) 2024 valedictorian.
Her valedictorian speech quickly garnered thousands of views, spreading rapidly in just a matter of weeks, as she shared her inspiring story.
However, her valedictorian speech only scratched the tip of the iceberg compared to the cold series of events she had to endure on her path to success.
Born in Venezuela and raised in Barcelona, Anzoátegui, she had longstanding dreams of embracing education. However, she faced countless struggles before that grand opportunity of studying in Guyana finally presented itself.
These stories of overcoming her battles were shared with this publication during a 12-hour time difference interview from where the brilliant young woman currently resides in Asia, furthering her studies.
According to Persaud, on the verge of entering her teenage years, the situation in Venezuela caused hunger to knock on many doors.
One of these doors was that of her family.
This heartbreaking reality prompted her father, whom she sees as a true soldier, to search for food for his family of three daughters and wife at the closest outlet—neighbouring, Brazil.
“I was maybe 12, 13 years old… during those years, a lot of people would have to go from Venezuela to Brazil to buy food, because we didn’t have anything in the stores. One year, my dad went to Brazil by himself. He went to Brazil to buy food which we really needed and came back with about 100 kilos of flour, sugar, and rice. I remember seeing my father, this one man, going to Brazil by himself and coming back just to be able to provide everything we needed. To this day, it really stays with me,” she related while adding that all of this was happening while her mother took care of them at home.
Speaking to this publication via telephone, there was a distinct aura of resilience as she recounted this painful chapter of her life. Through all of this, the family held on to a simple but powerful phrase she always remembers.
“Cuando las cosas se ponen difíciles, lo difícil se pone en marcha,” translation – “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.”
Highly grateful to her parents for their unwavering support, Persaud expressed deep thanks for keeping her and her siblings—who are all girls—together during these difficult times.
From every cardinal point, problems seemed to arise for the Persaud family. A lack of water plagued them for some time.
“We would have to fill buckets or tubs of water and use it sparingly so that it wouldn’t run out. Washing dishes, showering—it was a struggle. There were times when, even after I started studying at the University of Guyana online, we had days without electricity,” she shared.
Despite these hardships, Persaud kept her aspirations alive. However, when her high school years arrived, Venezuela was in the midst of mass protests as people fought for better conditions. These protests often took place right within her community, disrupting her quiet study time and making it difficult to focus.
“It was scary because people were being arrested, murdered, or kidnapped. I had to find ways to overcome those challenges,” she recounted.
The frequent power outages were another obstacle. To cope, she had to ensure that her devices were charged at any chance of electricity.
“I would have to work on my phone and then ask my sisters if they had any electricity or battery left. I made sure my laptop was fully charged before we knew the power was going to go off. It was just really hard going to university without consistent electricity. Even though I was studying online, it really affected me—everything in Venezuela did.”
During this time, Persaud often wondered whether it was all worth it—what they were all going through.
Flipping through the pages of memories she recounted the conversations with her Venezuelan friends who felt the same frustration. She shared conversations from their discussions that would generally pop up.
“No importa cuánto nos esforcemos, no importa cuánto nos esforcemos por mejorar, todos nuestros esfuerzos parecen en vano, en general,” which translates to, “No matter how much we strive to do better, all our efforts seem like they’re in vain, generally.”
The challenges didn’t end when the young girl moved to Guyana in 2023. Just three months after arriving, she was robbed while on her way to work.
“Safety was something I struggled with. I moved in March of 2023, and by June of 2023, I got robbed. At that time, my dad wasn’t there, and my mom wasn’t there. I was on my way to work, and I got robbed,” she recalled.
To avoid worrying her parents too much, she sometimes kept her struggles to herself, not wanting to add to their concerns.
Despite the many hardships she endured, Persaud’s resilience carried her forward. Today, she is continuing her language studies in China, where she is about to begin her master’s programme.
Though her path has been anything but easy, she remains hopeful—knowing that even after the darkest storms, a brighter future can still be found – no matter which part of the world she is in.
