The Value of Life-Long Education: Margaret and Anthony Brathwaite Honour Friend through Bursary

Sometimes a chance meeting can turn into a life-long friendship that changes your life. In the case of Margaret and Anthony Brathwaite, one of the first people they met when they moved to Canada in 1976 ended up becoming a dear friend who inspired them to give back. 

This friend was none other than Mary Anne Chambers, now Chancellor at the University of Guelph. After meeting through an accounting course, their lives have remained connected. Margaret ended up working for Mary Anne when she was a senior vice-president at Scotia Bank as the human resources manager, and Anthony volunteered to be her campaign’s chief financial officer when she ran for member of provincial parliament in 2003. 

When Mary Anne became Chancellor, the Brathwaites wanted to do something that would celebrate her achievement in a tangible way, and so decided to create the Anthony and Margaret Brathwaite Bursary. The bursary is given to a student in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences who demonstrates financial need. 

“Mary Anne has always been committed to helping people and investing in their education, encouraging staff to upgrade their skills and do whatever courses are available. I admire her for always having time to encourage young people to improve their lives through education,” said Margaret. 

The importance of a quality education has also been instilled in Margaret and Anthony Brathwaite since they were young. Growing up in Barbados, education was emphasized as incredibly important, reflected by the country offering undergraduate level education for free.  

Anthony originally aspired to be a civil engineer, but civil engineering wasn’t offered as a program in Barbados; therefore, to do so he would have had to study internationally at a university in North America, England or Trinidad at his expense. As one of eight siblings raised by his mother alone after his father died when Anthony was three, he decided to work at a bank short-term to earn the money he needed to pursue civil engineering. However, Anthony found he got hooked on banking, and soon his goals changed to become the best banker he could be.  

After working in an American bank in Barbados, Margaret thought she wanted to go to university to be an accountant. When her kids were born, she stopped doing accounting courses but discovered that she enjoyed working in human resources at the bank and switched her focus to improving her HR skills through seminars and courses. 

Both stories are examples of the value of life-long education. “One thing I always say to young people is that one thing that is in your control is your qualifications, so don’t give your employer the excuse to not promote you because you are underqualified,” said Anthony. “Take every opportunity you can to improve your skills through learning and professional development – with the availability of online education, learning is within reach of anyone who has the desire and will to improve their skills.” 

Now the Brathwaites hope to enable the next generation’s access to education through their bursary. “If we can say we had a hand in helping the recipient achieve their dreams, the bursary will have achieved its purpose. I hope it also encourages them to give back when they’re able because they were helped at one point in time and continue the cycle of supporting others,” said Anthony. 

Although neither Anthony nor Margaret went to the University of Guelph, they feel a strong connection to campus through Mary Anne Chambers and their great niece that went to U of G. When visiting campus, Margaret was struck by the campus and location as a quiet and beautiful space where young people can come and pursue their dreams that’s away from some of the distraction and hustle and bustle of larger universities and cities. 

Interested in helping to support our students? Contact Cristina Coates at ccoate02@uoguelph.ca to learn about available opportunities.