4-H Leader Receives UNB Award of Distinction
Written By Shastri Boodhan
Head of the 4-H Leaders Council of Trinidad & Tobago (T&T), Mrs. Natasha Lee was recently celebrated as one of the 2024 Alumni Awards of Distinction from the University Of New Brunswick, Canada (UNB). This award recognizes the significant contributions made by UNB Alumni in their local communities and beyond. Mrs. Lee was among eleven (11) persons who received the Alumni Award and the first national of T&T to be awarded the Award of Distinction from UNB.
Mrs. Lee is the acting Vice Principal of the Exchange R. C. Primary School and an avid advocate of promoting agriculture in all schools. Mrs. Lee obtained her Bachelor of Education Degree in 2016 and her Master of Education Degree in 2020 from UNB. She has reaped wide support and sponsorship for 4-H, an organization that provides children with opportunities to grow their own gardens and develop their entrepreneurial skills. In 2023 4-H received the third place award for Most Outstanding Youth Group from the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service.
In 1994, Mrs. Lee began her teaching career at the tender age of eighteen (18). She believes strongly in the holistic development of the child, a belief she had expressed long before it became a catchphrase. Mrs. Lee coached her school’s netball team, assisted with school sports, developed students’ artistic creativity, and served as a Red Cross Patron and a 4-H Voluntary Leader.
During the start of the 21st century, Mrs. Lee deepened her involvement in 4-H in Trinidad and Tobago. “Eat what you grow and grow what you eat“, became her mantra. She introduced aquaponics to several schools and encouraged students across T&T to see the value and potential of farming and ‘eating local’.
Mrs. Lee was accepted into the UNB cohort of 2012, under the ROYTEC-UWI banner, where she obtained a distinction in the Bachelor of Education Degree course in 2016 and later completed her Master of Education four years later, earning double designation degrees in Leadership and Management and Curriculum and Instruction.
Membership of 4-H T&T has almost tripled under her leadership as President of the 4-H Leaders Council of Trinidad and Tobago. She has used her knowledge as a UNB graduate to write proposals, source funding, and execute a series of projects, all with active learning as the core element.
Mrs. Lee also shares affiliations with other NGOs: Kids In Need of Direction (KIND), Lions Clubs, The Foundation for the Enhancement and Enrichment of Life (FEEL), and the Chaplaincy of the Migrant Ministry, ever seeking to improve the quality of life of the citizenry.
Associated Alumni Councillor Sarah Birch at UNB (left) presents Natasha Lee with the 2024 Alumni Award of Distinction at Richard J. Currie Center, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada on April 5, 2024
Photo Courtesy Natasha Lee