By Latrishka Thomas
The world is her oyster and she is determined to savour every bite from the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Joni Spencer is an Antiguan who has been named a finalist for one of the world’s most prestigious international scholarship programmes, the Rhodes Scholarship of 2023.
The Florida International University (FIU) student has excelled academically throughout her 20 years of life, but even more so in two subjects that many despise – math and chemistry – by maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
In two weeks, Spencer will be interviewed in Barbados for the international postgraduate award which allows students to study at the University of Oxford.
But, like most, the chemistry star is not immune to nervousness.
She told Observer that while she is overcome by nerves, she is elated to have such a major opportunity, especially noting her growth since attending the Sunnydale Primary School.
“I’m really excited about it. I put in a lot of work and I’ve had a very intense process that is unique to myself and I am so thankful to see my work paying off. It’s nice to have that recognition that other people see in me what I see in myself and what my family sees and values,” she said.
The 2017 Antigua Girls’ High School valedictorian said that her strategy to cop the reputable scholarship is to “be myself”.
Over the summer, she participated in a research programme at the current number one university in the world, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
During the programme, she analysed ways to optimise a material for use in batteries for electrical cars and how to make these cars a more efficient, sustainable alternative to combustion engine vehicles.
This opened Spencer’s eyes to STEM in ways she had never expected and she intends to spread that knowledge after her studies.
“I am passionate about science education in Antigua. I want to use my experience abroad to provide those opportunities for people at [Antigua] State College and those who are just about to launch themselves into the scientific world and show people that there are so much opportunities that are in the world and in the Caribbean for STEM,” she shared.
At FIU, Spencer is part of a lab headed by Alexander Mebel, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, in which she studies chemical reactions that may allow life to be conducive in space.
She is a student in the Honors College and a member of various organisations on campus, including the FIU Undergraduate Research Society, as well as a student leader in the National Society of Leadership and Success.
