UTech scholar overcomes depression to top graduating class

Renee Peters' path to becoming a forensic scientist was far from straightforward. She was forced to leave school as a teenager due to severe depression, facing challenges that went far beyond academics.

During that period away from school, Peters heard someone say that people "never recover" from breaks like that -- words she admitted "for a long time, I feared might had been right".

Now, Peters is on a path to becoming a forensic scientist and has been named valedictorian for the Faculty of Science and Sport at the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica, during a graduation ceremony on January 31.

She said the unfortunate 'never recovering' label was dispelled when she became a UTech, Jamaica peer counsellor. "My turning point was becoming a peer counsellor. I learned techniques for supporting others that I could also apply to myself, and contributing to others' well-being proved deeply healing," Peters stated.

"The biggest challenge I faced was managing my mental health alongside the academic demands. I left traditional schooling as a teenager due to severe depression and completed my exams independently," she shared.

Even as she faced personal struggles, Peters' determination to make a difference never wavered. "After taking time off from traditional schooling for my mental health, I doubted whether I could return and excel. University became an opportunity to prove to myself that I could rise to the challenge. Every project, late night in the lab, and exam became a measure of my determination, and I was often surprised by what I could achieve," she said.

Today, she is focused on playing her part in helping to combat crime. At a tender age, before she even dreamed of entering a forensics laboratory, Peters became acutely aware of the devastating nature of crime. She found herself comforting her younger cousins, who were grief-stricken and fearful following a shooting incident that left a relative hospitalised.

"From that moment, I wanted to be part of a system that ensures no citizen had to experience the fear and pain I saw my cousins grappling with that day," she said.

That experience guided her towards an academic path in forensic chemistry -- a move she considered necessary if she was to help combat what she deemed one of the most "destructive forces that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable members of our society".