THIS week was a memorable one for five children of members of the St. Lucia Workers Credit Union. They were honoured for their academic brilliance in this year’s Common Entrance Examinations via the Union’s Scholarship Awards and Bursaries.
All the awardees will be attending top secondary schools on the island and will not have to worry about not having school books for the next five years as the scholarships and bursaries will ensure that at least this aspect of their secondary school experience is well covered.
On hand to give them encouragement on how to handle themselves and their studies as they begin this all-important journey was Brittany Henry, who, nine years ago, was a recipient of such an award.
Henry has been a model representative of the credit union from the time she won the scholarship. Not only has she immersed herself in the Union’s outreach programme, but has made the membership proud of her hard work and dedication to achieving success in her studies.
It was this quality that she tried to pass on to the five awardees as she delivered the feature address at a small ceremony to mark the occasion.
“As you embark on this new journey, I have three points of advice to share with you which have helped me through all levels of my schooling. Point number one: Stay focused — you are at school to get an education, so do not leave without it. There will be lots of distractions and disappointments but don’t lose sight of what is important. Work hard and don’t settle for less. Nothing is impossible.
“Point number two: As the youth say, keep calm and be you, boo, boo. On your journey, you will experience lots of changes and go through a phase of discovering who you are. To the changes, do not lose your core values or get pressured by the status quo of society. Be you and love you. Take everything one step at a time and you will be just fine.
“Point number three: Have fun. Don’t be so into school that you forget to have fun. Find that balance, make those memories. Live your life to the fullest but stay in school.”
