Bmobile honours Tobago's top SEA students

Tobago's top SEA students were recently recognised by bmobile for their outstanding performances.

Despite the challenges of remote school and changes in the final exam dates, the students all reflected on their successes and discussed their secrets to success. Interestingly, Bishop’s High School was selected by all top three students as their first choice for secondary school.

Ranking in order of placement in Tobago were Jole St John of Scarborough Methodist, Raeya Charles of St Andrew's Anglican and Xzehanny Hazel of Black Rock Government. All three received gifts of broadband connectivity from bmobile to assist them.

"We do our best to uphold pillars in education as much as we do in co-curricular endeavours, sports and community engagement as we recognise that the investment in youth is easily one of the most rewarding. Our contribution in ensuring that as many as 10,000 students were provided with connectivity and smart devices last year shows just how passionate we are.

"Today we also salute the parents, teachers, and officials at the Ministry of Education who faced many hurdles to bring those in their care through this process successfully."

He also urged students who did not achieve the school of their choice, to not let it define their path, but to make the most of the opportunity in front of each of them.

Reflecting on the exam, St John thanked God for her achievement.

"Now that the exam has passed, I mostly feel a sense of relief that my sacrifices were rewarding," she said.

"God, first of all, played a major role in my success, as did the dedication and commitment of my parents, which can't go unmentioned."

St John noted her achievement was the product of a "strong support system."

She said, "Special mention must also go to Mrs Amena Sandy, my Standard 4-5 teacher at Scarborough Methodist Primary School; Ms Melanie Trim at Sure Pass Tutoring Ltd and Mrs Kimarie Richardson-Thomas at the Academy of Creative English." She credited her success to "hard work, commitment, time management and staying focused."

She hopes to become an Ob-Gyn (obstetrician-gynecologist) as she is passionate about women's health and prenatal care for babies. "I also offer my thanks to bmobile for recognising the importance of national youth and for the commendable reward systems established. Thank you for investing in the future."

The second-placed SEA performer from Tobago, Raeya Charles, was also grateful that her hard work paid off. She credited her academic excellence to "paying attention in class, participating when needed, and doing practice tests" but also advised students to find activities to help them relax. Charles has not yet decided on a career, but she believes it will likely be in dance and drama. She also enjoys reading, watching TV, and dancing.

"So far Bishop's (High School) has been fun and I like all my teachers. I advise anyone sitting the SEA to not stress too much. I thank God, my family and my Standard Five and extra lessons teachers for believing in me. I am forever grateful for this recognition," she noted.

Third-placed student Xzehanny Hazel, who was also the top male SEA performer in Tobago, graduated from Black Rock Government Primary School. “I was ecstatic when I heard because I made many sacrifices and worked very hard to be prepared for this exam. I had a goal in mind and always believed in myself and persevered, keeping my focus and never forgot to dream big,” he said. He credited keeping a timetable as core to his success alongside his willingness to ask for help from parents and teachers if he needed it.

Xzehanny hopes to become a surgeon or anaesthesiologist. Life at Bishop’s High School has been enjoyable so for and he advises incoming SEA students to remember that any school is a good school. “Continue to work hard, believe in yourself, complete your assignments in time and keep revising,” he recommended. He also thanked God, his parents, Dr Selvon Hazel and Tracy McMillan, his family, his principal, Mrs Johnson, and his Standard Five teacher, Ms Mitchell, as well as all his teachers at Black Rock Government.

TSTT partnered with Digicel and the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago in 2020 to procure over 10,000 devices for students of households affected by the economic fallout of the pandemic. Parents were also offered special rates for data to enable remote schooling to minimise the disruption to students’ education access across TT.