The Tribune

By FELICITY DARVILLE

She has graced the stage of the Miss World Beauty Pageant representing the Bahamas... and she very well could have lit stages afire around the world as a dancer. But something drew Bridgette Cooper back home – the desire to educate those who likely needed her help the most. She poured into children and those with special needs, helping to mold generations of Bahamians. After more than 3 decades as a noted educator, she’s still at it; but this time, she’s lending a helping hand to adults who have discovered that learning is indeed a lifelong journey.

The young, beautiful Bridgette won the Miss Commonwealth title in 1986, during a time when the pageant was in its heyday. Competition was hot and the fans were many. But the athletic dancer took home the crown and the title.

Born a Strachan, Bridgette grew up between her father’s family’s stomping ground, Strachan’s corner, Kemp Road, and her mother’s home on Bar 20 corner and Carmichael Rd. She was born to Althea Young-Wood and Arvon Strachan, and was the youngest of her mother’s four children. She attended Palmdale Primary during her formative years, and later graduated from Carmichael Primary then went on to SC McPherson Jr High. Between her father’s homestead and school, Bridgette’s childhood was filled with the fun and laughter of friends and family.

She was always athletically inclined, so naturally she joined the SC McPherson Sharks and AF Adderley Tigers and added to their prowess as she played softball, netball, volleyball, high jump, hurdle and shot put. In the summertime, Bridgette entered beauty pageants, and participated in dance lessons with renown instructor Robert Bain. In this way, she developed both strength and grace and blossomed into a talented young lady.

“Because I was athletic and a trained dancer, my goal was to be a dancer,” she said.

“All of the business studies and other high school options presented to me looked boring. I always loved movement, and so I knew having a desk job was not for me.”

Her finesse on the dance stage did not go unnoticed. Bridgette aspired to be a choreographer and was well on her way to attend the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. But her mother would not have it. Althea had no faith in dancing as a formidable career – an outlook that many parents had on the arts at that time. She warned her daughter if she broke her leg, her career was over.

While hopes of dance stardom may have been dashed, Bridgette entered Miss Commonwealth and claimed the crown. She represented The Bahamas at Miss World in Hong Kong and London, which was a “wonderful experience”. Among her many prizes, Bridgette won a scholarship to attend college, and with that, her journey in tertiary education began.

Bridgette attended Clearwater Christian College with the goal of becoming a physical education teacher. While at college, Bridgette discovered that she had some learning challenges. She had to get assistance in order to keep up with her course work.

“I realise that there are many students who face similar kinds of challenges and need help,” she said.

“A true teacher is one who can meet a child where they are and take them where they need to be. So, I wanted to help students like myself, who may have learning challenges and lack needed skills.”

Therefore, she decided that she wanted to study special education, to help those in need of educational support. Bridgette graduated from Clearwater with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Special Education.

Bridgette came back to New Providence ready to make a difference in the next generation. She worked at Trinity Christian School and then Kingsway Academy, where she taught primary school for six years before moving to Garvin Tynes Primary School.

Experiences at Garvin Tynes Primary School resulted in Bridgette further her education at the University of Miami where she earned a Master of Science degree in Education with concentration in Special Education/Reading. This helped her to be more effective in educating the youngsters of the Bahamas.

“I wanted to enhance my effectiveness in the classroom,” she said.

“While I knew a lot about special education, I wanted to be able to diagnose my students, uncovering the reason why they were not learning. I wanted to test, evaluate, and prescribe treatment for students identified as having problems learning.”

“It was always exciting for me when I was able to help a child learn how to read,” she confessed, “When they could blend vowels and consonants to form words.”

“They then understood that these words mean something. They would then begin using inflections and intonations when reading. They would then begin to ask questions as they read stories. That’s when I knew I was making a difference.”

Today, many of these students became standout students as they continued on in their studies. Many of her students have successful careers and some are even teachers themselves.

Bridgette’s continued employment at the Ministry of Education resulted in assignments to a Special Education Commission tasked with investigating the status of special education in the country. She served as Technical Officer for the National Commission of Special Education; Secondary Consultant to the Ministry of Education of St Kitts and Nevis; Technical Officer in the Special Education Unit in the Ministry of Education; and Quality Assurance Coordinator in the Preschool and Special Education Units for the Ministry of Education and the Inter-American Development Bank project: “Support Programme for Transforming Education and Training”.

Bridgette went on to serve as an Assistant Professor at the University of The Bahamas’ School of Education for ten years: “I enjoyed the interaction with UB students. I taught a wide range of students – some, right out of high school and others were professionals seeking to enhance their careers or change their careers altogether. While I enjoyed teaching all the students, teaching the mature students, was very satisfying to me.”

She has been described as a “self-directed enthusiastic educator” who is passionately committed to national development through education. Skilled in developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating educational programmes, Bridgette has dedicated her professional life to the enlightenment and empowerment of others.

Her journey continues as today, she serves as the Country Head of the University of the West Indies Open Campus Bahamas (UWIOCB). She began in this capacity in August 2020 and since then, she has been working to promote UWIOCB’s cause to “open doors to life-changing learning”. The University of the West Indies, through its Open Campus, offers higher, distance, and continuing educational programmes, research and innovation, and outreach programmes from all of its locations across the Caribbean region. Students can earn a degree or professional certificate from the myriad of options available.

UWIOCB can design a professional certificate program to meet any need in the professional world, and all programmes are offered online. She has been proud to introduce a successful high school initiative that gives students an opportunity to have achieved something they can be proud of.

“Many vocational programs offered in high schools, such as cosmetology, agricultural science, and motor mechanics do not offer national certificates to reflect knowledge and skill learned in the content area,” said Bridgette.

“As a result, many students in these subject areas graduate from high school without evidence to confirm their academic achievements and participation career option. UWIOCB wishes to assist these students in earning certificates of achievement in the areas of entrepreneurship and small business management, designed for students interested in becoming a business owner/entrepreneur; and the health management program is designed for aspirant clinical professionals in need of formal introductory training in the discipline. These two program options will assist in preparing students for their chosen careers in either area upon graduating from high school, thus giving them a head start in their chosen careers.”

UWIOCB has officially launched its most recent fundraiser – the first annual fun, run/walk/push and souse-out event. Proceeds will be used to award partial scholarships to high school students to attend this year’s high school summer program, which will run five to seven weeks. Participants will cover five kilometers as they exercise for a worthy cause. The event will be held on Saturday, April 30. Online registration is now open. For more information, visit www.open.uwi.edu, or call 323-6593/456-6687; on Facebook: UWIOCCSB and Instagram: uwi.oc.bahamas.

In addition to her goal to augment continuing education options in The Bahamas, Bridgette continues to present at numerous workshops and training sessions. She has often served as guest speaker on topics addressing inclusive education policies and practices, effective student assessment, educational leadership and school reform and youth development and mentorship.

While building her formidable teaching career, Bridgette passion for young people is evident as she is devoted to her church where she serves as the youth director. She has had the love and support of her high school sweetheart, Tracy Cooper, Managing Director of Bahamasair. They are the proud parents of Delon, their son who is about to graduate as a civil engineer; and Brittany, who graduated from university last semester with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders. She will pursue her Master’s Degree in the fall in Speech and Language Pathology.