Dr Deanna Ashley and Mrs Gloria Barrett Sobers are the 2014 SAINT Awardees. They received their distinguished award at the St Andrew Old Girls Association (SAOGA) February 15, 2014 Annual Valentine’s Dinner Dance
These are the citations to two more remarkable SAHS graduates.
Gloria Barrett-Sobers, is a devout Christian, an active member of the Providence Methodist Church and a remarkable St. Andrew High school graduate with excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills. Gifted and skilled in managing change she has an outstanding record of achievement in strategic planning and goal-directed action which has benefited her alma mater, individuals and organisations.
The St. Andrew Old Girls’ Association attests to her love for her alma mater. She has given unstintingly of her time and energy, most notably when she chaired the SAHS Foundation for four years, revitalizing the Foundation and guiding us through the School’s very successful 85th Anniversary & Homecoming Week which garnered the first 100 Donors to the Foundation. In 2011 she demitted office.
Gloria is indelibly linked with education, serving with distinction as the first female Registrar/Director of Administration at the University of the West Indies, Mona, 1992-2007. Gloria’s record of service and work also extends across the Caribbean. Now retired, she serves on a number of Committees and Boards on a voluntary basis.
When we think of Gloria, the following qualities come readily to mind – Compassion, Honesty, Assertiveness and Humility. We recognize Gloria not her only for her dedication and service of distinction, but also for being an outstanding role model and a shining example of our motto Life More Abundant. Truly she was aptly named: Gloria – a Glorious example of commitment, service and excellence who has brought glory to her alma mater and the wider society.
Dr. Deanna Ashley, CD, physician, health administrator, 1964 SAHS graduate and current Chair of the SAHS Foundation has an unwavering commitment to her alma mater.
Her dynamism and visionary leadership resulted in the renovation of the Old Science Block, relocation of the Foundation/SAOGA office, and development of the School’s integrated website. The naming of the Alumnae Tower and the development and maintenance of the Museum Garden are also projects to her credit. Beyond this all, Deanna’s expertise, experience and care is always readily available to the school and its students on any issue arising— school, health or personal.
Successfully balancing in her retirement, the executive directorship of the Violence Prevention Alliance and her service to her school alma mater, Deanna is known to be a generous, honest and compassionate ‘Go-Getter’ who will always find and successfully negotiate the solution or the best workaround.
A retired director of health promotion in the Ministry of Health where she served with distinction from 1977-1998, Deanna has also worked as medical officer, senior medical officer for maternal and child health, and principal medical officer for secondary and tertiary care. Her outstanding service in health was recognised with two national honours—the Order of Distinction (OD) 1983, for her work in the 1982 polio epidemic and the Commander of Distinction (CD) in 2005.
Deanna was recognized by the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) in 2012 as one of three women to make as significant contribution in shifting the paradigm and cultivating a systems approach to public health and violence prevention.
Deanna’s life of service and her commitment to her school, community and her service epitomises the St. Andrew High School motto – Life More Abundant.