Olufunmike Banks-Devonish has achieved another important milestone in her young, eventful life and is now qualified to make a significant contribution to Mental Health Services in Anguilla! On September 21, Dr Banks-Devonish had received notification of her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the University Birmingham’s graduate psychology department and returned, five days later, to her homeland Anguilla! Then, on World Mental Day, October 10, 2018, she obtained her official registration as a licensed Clinical Psychologist from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in the United Kingdom!
Dr Banks-Devonish’s journey towards this impressive achievement began in 2009 at Ontario’s #1 undergraduate university, Trent University in Peterborough, Canada, where, in 2012, after three years, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Psychology, graduating on the Dean and President’s list. As a student at Trent she worked as a Trent International Student Ambassador and was also elected as President of the African Caribbean Student Union. She then continued her education in the United States in 2013 at the highly reputed Pennsylvania State University, which is #1 in top public universities in Pennsylvania, where she obtained her Master of Arts degree in Applied Clinical Psychology in 2015. Olufunmike then crossed the Atlantic to the United Kingdom where she spent three years pursuing her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the illustrious University of Birmingham, which had received the Times Higher Education award as ‘University of the Year’ in 2014. So, after eight years of rigorous academic and practical studies, Dr Banks-Devonish is well prepared to take on the mantle of Clinical Psychologist in the government of Anguilla!
Dr Banks-Devonish, daughter of Dr Oluwakemi Linda Banks, clinical psychologist, and Courtney Devonish, sculptor and potter, surprised her mother, when at age 16, she declared her intention to carry on the legacy as a clinical psychologist. Her mother was, to say the least, delighted at this news! Her parents therefore supported her education at the undergraduate and masters’ levels, and were fortunate to receive some government assistance in the form of a scholarship for the final leg of her studies at the doctoral level.
Dr Banks-Devonish spent her first preschool year at St Mary’s Preschool and then continued to excel at her preschool and primary education at the Teacher Gloria Omololu Institute, which had been founded by her mother, before attending the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School where she obtained her Associate’s Degree from the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).
Dr Banks-Devonish’s multi-dimensional path to success has been nothing short of phenomenal, having been strewn with victory at several levels. She was crowned as Anguilla’s Carnival Princess in the Prince and Princess show in 1998 at which she and Rhys Roydon represented the Teacher Gloria Omololu Institute. She also claimed the title of the CCB Talented Teen in 2005 and returned home from Canada on vacation to compete and be crowned as Miss Anguilla in 2011. The multi- talented Dr Banks-Devonish has also been a winning debater at the Leeward Islands’ Debating competitions and has participated and been a member of winning hip hop dancing teams in Canada, the US and the UK. She credits her dancing expertise and her passion for dancing to her early involvement in the All-Ah-Wee young theatre company and later training with From Within Dance Academy. Her other talents include skills in piano as well as oratorical excellence.
Dr Banks-Devonish comes to the mental health scene in Anguilla at a time when our community is facing increasing challenges among our youth and families. Her years of supervised internships and placements in populations of children, adolescents, adults, older adults, forensic clients and individuals with learning disabilities, in both inpatient and community settings, render her well-equipped to offer a multifaceted array of well needed services in Anguilla.
Dr Olufunmike Banks-Devonish and her parents would like to use this medium to thank God, the government and the general Anguillian community, and sponsors as well as their family members and friends and professors from Canada, Pennsylvania and Birmingham, for their unequivocal support.
– Contributed
