Like her late granddad Kenneth, father Peter (both QCs) and her uncle Colin, she too is a member of the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn society of barristers.
She was called to the Saint Lucia Bar this week, on September 7—the same date nine years ago when her father was called to the Inner Bar, to be “given silk,” as they say, in the beaming presence of his father Kenneth and his own offspring. Still another coincidence: on the remembered occasion her brother Luke Foster was called to the Saint Lucia Bar.
On Tuesday this week it was the turn of Tianah Foster yet again to be in the legal spotlight. As is commonplace these days, the related ceremony was virtual. Attending via Zoom were scores of admirers, home-based and from other regions, including prominent members of the law fraternity.
Meanwhile 22-year-old Tianah Foster, with her proud parents and close relatives, took in the encomiums from the plush chambers of FOSTERS. Presiding was Justice Kimberly Cenac Phulgence.
A former student of St. Joseph’s Convent and Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Tianah Foster read law at Bristol Law School, at which time she managed and oversaw the finances of the UBLC, comprising some 1200 student members.
On her admission to the Saint Lucia Bar, Miss Foster thanked the judge for taking time off her vacation on her behalf. She recalled stations of the cross en-route to the bar: “They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it certainly took a village to get this child through the bar course. I could not have made it through last year without the love, support and encouragement I received from friends and family.”
She acknowledged that while COVID has disrupted lives worldwide, it has not been without its little blessings. “I was able to study in Saint Lucia with my mommy at home cooking all my meals and literally crying with me when the load seemed heavier than I could carry. Daddy was also there to offer special comfort and reassurance.”
She recalled one occasion when she was studying at her father’s chambers: “During the lunch break, I went upstairs to listen in on a matter with my dad conducting a cross-examination. I was so impressed by his demonstrated skills. Bursting with enthusiasm, at the end of the trial I proudly congratulated him. ‘You remind me so much of myself!’ said I, at the time halfway through my second term and all but done with the Cross-Examination Unit, one of my favorites. My father smiled knowingly. ‘My darling,’ he said, ‘I’ve been doing this 30 years. And yes you are like me!’ ”
Also receiving special mention were her brother Luke and sisters Lauren and Maquia, who she said had made her feel “like a super woman.” Then there were her earliest teachers, among them Mr. Sarvey (math); Señora Mohammad (A-Level Spanish); Mrs Fanis, head of the debate club in Miss Foster’s time at A-Level College; “Auntie” Tracy, who taught her to love Spanish in forms 4-5; Miss Emmanuel, her art teacher at St. Joseph’s Convent.
Renee St. Rose, a partner at FOSTERS, also received her own bouquets: “Thank you for moving my call today. Thank you for your belief in me, for your words of encouragement, for the tea breaks and the cookies and the chats over the year.”
Last but certainly not least, there were her attendant parents. Her mother and “best friend” Therese who always offered her “pure love,” who always made certain her student daughter was up at 4 a.m. for classes and exams. As for “Honorable Justice Daddy,” he was the father every girl dreamed about. He was ever encouraging, always reassuring, “always rationalizing with me during periods of overwhelm, reminding me nonstop that I have what it takes to accomplish whatever I might set my sights on.”
Mom and dad, she said, at all times were her “staunchest supporters, her ever-present most inspiring cheerleaders.”
