Page 22 - ALMI 10TH ANNUAL MOTHER'S DAY AWARD CONCERT

BIOGRAPHY OF
Mary Doreen Quelch-Missick RGN. BA. MBA. LL.B [Hons.]. MBE
Mrs. Quelch-Missick is an Attorney
and is the sitting President of the
Labour Tribunal.
She was born and raised on the
island of South Caicos and was
able to trace her mother’s roots,
Mrs. Mary Durham, to the early
Bermudian settlers, the Durhams
of Southampton, who came in the
late 1800s and built the Salt Ponds
and harvested salt
in East Harbour.
The Salt Ponds that
remain to this date.
Mrs. Quelch Missick
was born and grew
up in South Caicos;
she attended Ms.
Euphemia’s school
and then transferred
to the All Age
Primary School on
the Hill. Under the
tutelage of Head
teacher Mr. Dodd
and his wife from
Jamaica. Recognizing there were
some Jamaican roots, they both took
a liking to her sense of curiosity and
desire to learn.
After primary school, she went on to
Pierson High School and graduated
top of her class and was chosen
as the Valedictorian, Mrs. Quelch
Missick remembers quite vividly the
theme of her speech in 1974—‘We
have reached the Cross-Roads’. In
that year, she received the highest
number of Cambridge GCSE passes
and after graduation was sent to
Grand Turk to teach at South Primary
School, followed by North Primary
School and for a while South Caicos
Primary School.
Her zest for learning took her on a
career path of nursing. She received
nursing training at the University
Hospital, Kingston, Jamaica,
graduated top of her class as a
Registered Graduate Nurse [RGN],
and received the coveted Community
Nursing Award for her outstanding
work in the impoverished
communities throughout Kingston.
She returned home and worked at
the Grand Turk Hospital as a staff
nurse and, during her shift, was often
the charge nurse. She
later transitioned
to the United States
and took and passed
the State Board
examination on her
very first attempt.
She quickly moved
into a management
position and spent
many years working
in the healthcare
industry and raising
her three children.
Mrs. Quelch Missick
went back to school
while still working full-time as a
Nurse Manager she obtained a
Bachelors’ Degree in Professional
Studies [Management and
Organization]; a Masters’ Degree
in Business Administration [MBA];
and later moved to the United
Kingdom with her children. There
was a time when all four were
attending university all at the same
time: she attended University of
Leeds, her son Jahmal was attending
Buckingham University, daughter
Akierra was attending University
of Nottingham, and Alexandria was
attending Nottingham Trent, all
studying law. Mrs. Quelch Missick
achieved a Bachelors’ Degree in
law [LLB. Hons] and completed her
advocacy training as a Barrister, she
was called to the Bar of England and
Wales in June 2002 and remains a
member of the Honorable Society of
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