Being an international student, Abigail Maxwell knows what it feels like to be homesick. Hailing from the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago, Abigail yearned for a place that felt like home, and she found that home with Caribbean Student Association (CaribSA).
Abigail is a senior Geology major from Tacarigua, Trinidad and Tobago and is the president of CaribSA, a student run organization that promotes Caribbean culture on campus. Being a freshman international student, Abigail needed help not only with getting acclimated to life at the University of Georgia as a college freshman, but with being thousands of miles away from her home and her family. Caribsa provided her with a community of people who could relate to her struggles and with a way to spread her culture to better inform the students of UGA.
She first joined CaribSA after hearing about it from a friend, and since then she has remained an active and devoted member of the organization.
“CaribSA shows the diversity of the Caribbean and shows that the Caribbean is not just one island, it is made up of many islands, many different cultures, and many different people, and it is a way for me to instill pride in other people as much as I have for my culture.” Maxwell said.
So with that philosophy in mind, Abigail decided to run for president of CaribSA and has remained president for the past two years.
As active president, Abigail helps encourage members to have pride in their culture, to utilize their creative talents through song, dance, and food, and helps those who have never visited their native countries to learn more about their culture. However, her duties do not stop there. She also helps create new ideas for the various events CaribSA holds, oversees and participates in every event, and attends every meeting, practice, and rehearsal. She uses the pride that she had for her country to keep her motivated.
“I’m an international student, so my immediate family does not live here, they live in Trinidad, so it is really a home away from home for me; the place where I can feel completely comfortable and just myself and I know that people understand me without having to change the way I talk or express myself…it is like my family in a sense,” said Abigail.
CaribSA hosts several events each year, including Caribbean week which is hosted every spring. The organization also works with Be the Match, an organization that works with the National Marrow Donor Program to help raise awareness about the need for bone marrow and umbilical cord transplants and helps encourage the recruitment of donors.
Although this is Abigail’s last year at the University of Georgia, she anticipates a growth in membership and in community service opportunities.
“I really want to be able to pass on what I’ve learned… and I want CaribSA to continue where it is going and just continue being as fun and as family oriented and professional as we have been and keep improving after I leave, so I guess my main goal would be for CaribSA to thrive and grow,” said Abigail.
Abigail is currently an RA at Creswell, an International Student Life (ISL) representative, and a member of the geology club. She has interned with Petrotrin and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and tutored at Athens Scholars.
Once she graduates, Abigail plans on working for one to two years before going to graduate school and possibly getting a Masters in geophysics. To learn more about CaribSA and the events that will be held this semester follow @UGACaribSA on twitter.