Fraser Pryce motivates Wolmer’s Boys’
STUDENTS of the Wolmer’s high schools who have been exposed to a series of motivational talks, dubbed ‘The Chairman’s Forum’, are singing the praises of the intervention.
Upper sixth form student Clive Duncan told Career & Education that the talks provide broader perspective for the students who are in the process of transitioning from high school into the ‘real world’.
“I think it’s important because it gives us perspectives from people who are accomplished and have been through the same journey. It (the forum) encourages us and we learn a lot from the guests. They share what allows them to succeed and some of these general principles can be applied to our lives,” he said.
His classmate, Jordan Hayles agreed.
“The chairman’s forum shows us how these really important people got to where they are. Personally, I have been motivated. I’ve been trying out the strategies; for instance, Neil Gardener’s strategy of going to sleep and getting up in the wee hours to do school work. The talks give us a broader view of life after high school and have made me appreciate being a Wolmerian, as we have done some great things,” he said.
The Chairman’s Forum is the brainchild of chairman of the Wolmer’s Trust, Milton Samuda.
It is held once a month and targets upper and lower sixth form students, who get the opportunity to hear from professionals in various fields about their individual experiences on the road to success, and about life in general. Speakers for 2015 have included Minister of Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna, second in command at the Jamaica Defence Force Brigadier Rocky Meade, entertainer Wayne Marshall, general manager of IBM Gordon Foote, Captain Basil Bewry, and most recently, two-time Olympic 100 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who addressed Wolmer’s Boys’ at the November instalment.
Fraser-Pryce, herself a past student of the Wolmer’s group of schools, encouraged the students to make conscious and wise choices as to what path they will take in life. In sharing her experience while at Wolmer’s Girls’, Fraser-Pryce admitted that she wasn’t very proud of who she was then, but she knew that God had a plan for her. She also encouraged the students to think big and be prepared to work hard toward their goals.
A special edition of the forum was convened last Tuesday to recognise the success of various sports teams, as well as those who placed among the top 10 national achievers in the last sitting of the Caribbean Examinations Council’s secondary education and advanced exams. Since the start of the 2015 school year, Wolmer’s Boys’ has emerged champions in water polo, swimming, lawn tennis, and recently copped the ISSA Walker Cup title. In addition, 24 of its students placed nationally in the external exams.
The forum, which started in 2011 with the girls’ school, aims to get role models and exemplars to have dialogue with the sixth formers as a means of inspiring and motivating them to achieve their best.