The newest member of the Bermuda Bar said he has been strengthened by the difficulties he had to overcome in life to eventually become an attorney.

Kensley Andrew McDowall, a former teacher and Policeman, said he had become a better person by conquering the obstacles which had "deliberately or otherwise'' been thrown in his way.

Mr. McDowall, 51, who was born in St. Vincent, quoted the words of the Afro-American writer Maya Angelou -- "Still I rise'' -- when describing the challenges he had met.

At a ceremony in Supreme Court One on Friday when he was called to the Bermuda Bar, Mr. McDowall said: "I thank those over the years that have placed, deliberately or otherwise, obstacles in my path.

"In each obstacle overcome I have risen to high self-assurance and gained the respect of people who have been aware of the obstacles I have had to circumvent.

"It has tested me, and I feel better tempered to deal with the rigours of being a trained and effective barrister.'' Mr. McDowall, who is married to Hyacinth and has two children, Andrew and Kendra, trained at the St. Vincent Teachers' for two years until 1970.

In 1971 he joined the Bermuda Police Service, working in various departments, including prosecutions.

He is a former member of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, the Bermuda Music and Dramatic Society, the Studio Foundation for the Arts, the Bermuda Police Choir and is the founder and President of Stage One Productions.

A keen sportsman, he played for the Bermuda Police Cricket Section and served on the management committees of the Central Counties and Somers Isle Cricket leagues.

He has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Politics from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of London.

Mr. McDowall, who has yet to choose a chambers, received a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in St. Augustine, Trinidad, this year.

Barrister Larry Scott, who moved the motion before Chief Justice Austin Ward to call Mr. McDowall to the Bar, said he was one of a "growing group of new attorneys who come with training from the Caribbean'' which is "going to be an influential group of litigants and professionals who bring new and different experience to our jurisprudence''.

He said Mr. McDowall had come to the Bar late in life, but was like "old wine (which is) better wine''.

Richard Hector, the President of the Bermuda Bar Association, said Mr McDowall had a background which was difficult to rival in variety, and noted that his dramatic skills would stand him in good stead.

Welcoming Mr. McDowall to the Bar, Mr. Ward said: "You alluded to the difficulty that you faced, the obstacles that you had overcome, but I've found that in life the Almighty never told us things would be easy, but what he promised us was strength to overcome.

"In the words of C.L.R. James: `It's not where you come from but where you're going and the rate that you're going there'. As long as you overcome and recognise the Almighty as the source of all overcoming, all difficulty will fly away.''