 |
By Desrine McTair. Updated 6:11 p.m., Wednesday, June 28, 2023, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4)
Vincentian Lorenzo Bacchus, an architect, engineer, and businessman has been chosen as the 2023 Class Valedictorian of his department at his university in – Taiwan.
On Saturday June 10th, 2023, Lorenzo received his Master of Science in Civil and
Disaster Prevention Engineering from the National Taipei University of Technology,
making him one of the few in his immediate family to achieve such a feat.
This would be Bacchus’ second graduation from the institution having obtained his Bachelor of
Science in Architecture in 2021. This all following his successful acceptance to the 2016
cohort of the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Scholarship recipients.
This means that Bacchus has been away from his family and island nation for some 7
years! When asked to recount his journey in Taiwan, he remained adamant that his
success was a product of, not only his dedication, but also of his support system who
assured him that the journey would all be worth it in the end.
In 2021, after five (5) years of study in Taiwan, Bacchus emerged from his university
with his bachelor’s degree. During his 4-year Chinese bachelor’s degree, he maintained
a 4.0 GPA, and consistently ranked in the top 5 of his class. Bacchus’ final bachelor’s
project, City Life Terminal: Before and After, an architectural design project focusing on
the regeneration of Kingstown and the redesign of the Kingstown Bus Terminal,
received an award for being one of the best design projects, and was also presented to
various government officials and private sector representatives in SVG through the
Embassy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Republic of China (Taiwan).
As he began his journey to becoming a Master of his trade, Bacchus continued to grow and
promote his business, Bacchus Design & Construction, which received the Honorable
Henry Channon award for the design of the Cumberland Nature Trail bridges.
Bacchus has pointed out that, though his years as a bachelor’s student were rough and
stressful, he prides himself for having the courage to see it through to the end. That,
however, was not the end as Bacchus immediately dived headfirst into his master’s
degree program in the Fall of 2021.
This too proved to be challenging as the two-year journey to acquire his master’s
degree required him to leave many friendships, familial relationships and past times
behind to allow greater focus on his priorities. In the end, even with facing a full Chinese
program, Bacchus was named Valedictorian of his department’s graduating class.
A draft of his master’s thesis was also presented at the Taiwan Society of Construction
Engineers’ 20th Construction Industry Sustainable Development Seminar where he
received positive feedback on the relevance of his research to the field.
Although he is an Architect and Engineer at heart, Bacchus also has a passion for
cooking. This inspired him to, during his master’s studies, introduce a Caribbean food
business called BDC Catering, to bring a taste of home to the Caribbean nationals living
in Taiwan.
It was these two businesses and his resilience that drew the attention of the
National Taiwan Normal University’s English as a Medium of Instruction Program and
led to the program’s invitation for him and his wife, Rotasha Bacchus, to share with
students of the institution about their life in Taiwan. An experience that he noted was
very significant as he sees himself as not only an ambassador for his business but his
country, SVG, as well.
When asked about the significant members of his support system, Bacchus expressed
deep gratitude to his wife, Rotasha Bacchus, for always being there from the very
beginning of his journey in Taiwan, and for being his biggest supporter, motivator, and
sounding-board. He was also grateful for the support of his parents, Adolphus and
Jozette Bacchus, Cultural Ambassador, Peggy Carr, St. Vincent and the Grenadines’
Ambassador to the Republic of China (Taiwan), Mrs. Andrea Bowman, his mother-in-
law, Natasha Baptiste, and his friends, Cherry-Ann Morris-Browne, Breneva Olliver,
Devante Fergus, Timnisha Roberts, and James Campbell.
Bacchus said, he remains committed to making himself, his family, and his country proud.
Photo Credit: Lorenzo Bacchus
Photo Credit: Lorenzo Bacchus
One News SVG 