College of Sciences Newsletter

Edition 4

May 1, 2001

 
 

The following article which will appear in the next College of Sciences magazine, Catalyst; features a graduating senior from the Department of Psychology.

A GEM IN THE MAKING

by Phyllis Fryer Brown

 Not all gems are found through mining. A gem does not always need to be cut and polished to show beauty or value. Lorraine Koobokile, a senior in the Department of Psychology, is such a gem. The enthusiasm and love she radiates for her home country of Botswana is unequaled by any of the precious stones it produced in that nation. Although she studies at Old Dominion University, Lorraine’s dream has always been to eventually return to Botswana to share the benefits of her education and to help alleviate the need for professionals in her field. Subsequently, when Lorraine decided to undertake an internship, she wanted to return to her native land.
 
 

Fortunately, Debswana Diamond Company, owned by De Beers Centenary and the Botswana government, offered an international internship to Lorraine. Diamond mining is the major element of the Botswana economy since diamonds account for 77 pecent of the country’s annual export earnings. Being the country’s biggest employer with 6,000 employees, Debswana utilized Lorraine’s knowledge of industrial organization in its Industrial Relations Department.

Lorraine’s dream has always been to get a good education and return to Botswana to apply it where there is a need for professionals in this field. Her summer internship afforded her invaluable experience mediating for both employer and employees during disciplinary and grievance cases. She often had to translate actions on the behalf of management to employees.

 As a representative of Debswana Diamond Company, she attended union management meetings where company policies were sometimes questioned. The major problems dealt with housing issues and compensation of workers involved in accidents on the job and the Mining Union proposed permanent health and safety stewards in each department. Lorraine assisted in conducting research to help management decide whether there was a need for permanent safety stewards.
 As Lorraine was leaving Debswana a former high school classmate, Mpule Kwelagobe (better known to us as the 1999 Miss Universe), arrived for a tour of the mining company. Lorraine left Debswana and her family with a little sadness, but she was revitalized and eager to return to her studies at Old Dominion and whatever else the future may hold for her.

 After graduation in May 2001, Lorraine hopes to pursue a graduate degree, travel and tackle anything else that will help her obtain her career goals; however, somewhere down the road she will return to Botswana. In the meantime, Lorraine says, “The sky is not my limit, there are solar systems our there waiting to be explored!” No doubt this gem in the making will explore them all.