President's Medal winner: ‘I kept my eyes on the target’

Amrit Galbaran, one of the two students recommended for the President’s Medal for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) 2020, said he did not allow anything to distract him from his goal; not even covid19.

Minister of Education Nyan Gadsby-Dolly announced the medal recipients during a press conference on Thursday at the education Towers, Port of Spain.

This year, Galbaran of Hillview College and Anjali Maharaj of Naparima Girl’s High School were the top students.

“I had my eyes on the target and I did not allow any distractions to take me away from that,” said Galbaran. He said although it was a challenge adjusting to the new virtual environment during covid19, he was determined to stick to his routine.

“I did not let (covid19) affect my preparations in anyway.”

The Prime Minister enacted lockdown protocols in March of last year to curb the spread of the virus. Students were forced into virtual classes and schools remained closed until January when Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) students were permitted to return to face-to-face classes to prepare for this year’s exams.

Galbaran said, while he was excited to learn of his recommendation for the medal, he was especially happy to make his parents proud.

“It gave me a sense of accomplishment.”

He said his mother took care of his family home and ensured that he was able to focus on his studies.

“She gave me no reason not to study…I am extremely grateful to repay (my parents) a fraction of what they gave me (but) above all, I am thankful to God.”

Galbaran said his classmates were also very proud of him. He said he had a circle of friends who are very supportive, and all helped each other through their studies.

“We did a lot together. We work well as a team and all of us got real good results in the end.

“We grew together as a group. Most of them will start medicine with me in September.”

He said, while it is still too early to tell what kind of doctor he wants to be, he will be enrolling in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of the West Indies.

Galbaran is very involved in magic and even started the first magic club at his school. He said as much as he would have loved to pursue becoming a magician as more than a hobby, he was advised by his father to always ensure he had a back-up plan.

“My parents were always very supportive. My father even helps me build a lot of my props, but my parents held the view that I could do it together with my academics.”

He said he hopes that future students continue the magic club at Hillview after he is gone.

Including Galbaran and Maharaj, 100 students in 23 schools will receive scholarships from the Ministry of Education.

Ten scholarships – comprising 5 open and 5 additional – will be awarded in ten cognate groups solely based on academic performance for the academic year 2019 to 2020.

“Two President’s Medals are awarded annually to the highest performing students in two categories: category one, environmental studies, information and communication technology, mathematics and natural sciences; category two, business studies, creative and performing studies, general studies, humanities/modern studies, language studies and technical studies,” said Gadsby-Dolly.

Galbaran will receive the medal in category one and Maharaj in category two.