Two students of Herbert Morrison Technical High School in St James have copped top awards for outstanding performances in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) external tests which they sat last year.
They are Antwan Campbell, who was awarded for the most outstanding performance in building and mechanical engineering drawing, and Jemoy Jarrett, who got the corresponding award for industrial technology.
Both received their awards during a virtual presentation ceremony hosted by the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) and the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Social Services of the Turks and Caicos Islands on February 9.
In an interview with JIS News, 19-year-old Antwan underscored how important being disciplined in his studies has been to his academic success.
The grade 13 student, who doubles as a part-time teacher at his school, said the journey to the award was rewarding.
“The award really meant a lot. But (I value) the experience and knowledge that I garnered over the time that I studied and worked extremely hard. The experience was not necessarily smooth sailing, but I learned to overcome and to adapt to whatever challenges were in front of me,” he stated.
Antwan noted that while doing building and mechanical engineering drawing, he grew to enjoy learning it, and discovered the connections with different subject areas, which he anticipates will aid in his quest to become a mechanical engineer.
Young Antwan is no stranger to academic achievements, as he passed eight Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects, all with grade ones.
These are English language, mathematics, information technology, industrial technology (mechanical), industrial technology (electrical), physics, chemistry and technical drawing.
He also did four CAPE unit one examinations and passed them with grade ones and, thereafter, sat another five CAPE exams, four unit two exams and one unit one exam, in which he received four grade ones and one grade three.
Amid his academic success, Antwan said his Achilles heel was proper time management.
“I wanted to be comfortable. I realised quickly that that is not the way to go, when it comes to achieving academic success. At the same time, while I embrace discipline, just to maintain that consistency every single day was a real struggle,” he shared.
One would think that having secured a staggering 17 subjects overall would be enough for Antwan, but not so.
He pointed out that he is pursuing an additional two CAPE subjects this year, to bring the number to a grand total of 19 subjects.
Antwan lauded his school and teachers for their roles in his academic success, and expressed gratitude for their mentorship and patience.
The youngster is hoping to become an “innovative leader” in order to utilise all the knowledge he has garnered.
Antwan has held leadership positions, including head boy at Green Pond Primary in St James, and former head boy at Herbert Morrison Technical High. He is also an active member of the Cornwall Court Seventh Day Adventist Church, where he is a youth leader.
Regarding his electrical and electronics technology and mechanical engineering technology teaching assistant position at Herbert Morrison, he said it was offered to him because of his leadership qualities and his amazing performance in the subject areas.
The young man, who is poised to make an indelible mark at the school, started a tutoring programme at the institution, where upper school students assist those in the lower school who are experiencing challenges with various subjects.
In addition to his mechanical engineering dreams, Antwan says he is looking to master several musical instruments.
For his part, 17-year-old Jemoy said he was grateful for his award, and was by no means surprised that he won, as he worked hard to earn it.
“Mr (Kevin) Coke (my electrical and electronics technology and mechanical engineering Technology teacher) told me in grade 10 that he expected me to get the award, based on my performance in class. So yes, I was waiting for it,” stated Jemoy with obvious conviction.
The grade 12 student is the proud holder of 10 CSEC subjects with distinctions in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, English language, information technology, industrial technology (mechanical), industrial technology (electrical), Spanish and technical drawing.
He is now preparing to sit examinations for five CAPE subjects, namely computer science unit 1, physics unit 1, communication studies, pure mathematics, and electrical and electronics technology, and he is “expecting to get all (grade) ones”.
Jemoy said his love for learning drives him, adding that his fascination with engineering serves as a greater motivation.
“The application of theories that you learn from science and other disciplines, you can find ways to apply all of them and create physical projects,” he pointed out.
Jemoy told JIS News that his interests lie between software and electrical engineering.
“So the career path that I am thinking about right now is robotics. The fact that it has a mix of mechanical engineering, (and) the electrical and physics (aspects), I like those,” he added.
The young achiever admits that virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be his biggest challenge in his quest to do his subjects.
“Trying to keep up with all the subjects while I was at home (was hard), and I didn’t have a device for a (while) because mine stopped working. So, dealing with the effects of that was really challenging,” he shared.
Jemoy noted that his return to face-to-face classes translated to a lot of work and late hours at school, but noted that everything worked out.
After graduating from Herbert Morrison, he plans to study computer science or electrical engineering overseas at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.
Jemoy indicated that his family is proud of his achievements and are by no means surprised, as he has always been an overachiever.
In addition to being a prefect at Herbert Morrison, he currently helms the tutoring programme that was started by his predecessor, Antwan.
Both Antwan and Jemoy are encouraging young men like themselves to identify an engagement that they enjoy, and stick to it.
But, more importantly, they urge their peers to be cognisant of, and be laser focused on, the future they want for themselves.
