CSEC and CAPE top scorers are honored
The spirit at the gymnasium at the University of Belize was uplifting today; present were sixth formers from junior colleges around the country and the occasion was the award ceremony for the winning CSEC and Cape students. Aaron Stock who bested the CAPE is away but his mother stepped in reminding the students on his behalf that failure is not failing down; it is refusing to get up after you have fallen. For Xiaowen Huang, who topped the 2013 CSEC, success is not an accident on which you would stumble. Duane Moody reports.
Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
“This success although it is theirs is also very much yours. So I ask the young people who are being celebrated and applauded today to give a round of applause for the people who supported them—their parents, their guardians, their teachers, their friends and their schools. Can you join me in giving them a round of applause young people? (Applause)”
Duane Moody, Reporting
Thousands of second and tertiary students from across the country and their parents gathered inside the UB Gymnasium in Belmopan and joined in the celebration for the national awards ceremonies. The event is held by the Ministry of Education to honor the students that did exceptionally well in the 2013 Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examinations and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Exams.
Khalid Belisle
Khalid Belisle, Guest Speaker
“Knowing your strengths allows you to welcome your weaknesses. Believe in yourselves and always remember that you have a purpose even if it may not be readily apparent. The most important thing that I will implore those here today to do is simple. Live: I ask you, I beg you, I beseech you to live. I’d like you to keep two Ds as you go forth in life. I want you to decide and I want you to dream. If you can start making the conscious decision to go the route that will benefit not just yourself but others as well, our development as a nation will increase exponentially. Young people dream. Have you ever noticed that as children we dream wildly and then when we grow up, we start dreaming realistically? Why is that? why do we limit ourselves so because the passage of time has moved the age column into double digits.”
Taking top marks in CAPE for 2013 was Aaron Andrew Stock, who is currently studying overseas. In his absence, his mother, Beverly Menzies Stock, received the award on his behalf and read the speech he had prepared for the occasion.
Beverly Menzies Stock
Beverly Menzies Stock, Mother of Aaron Stock
“Whether it is studying for an important test, playing a sport or just enjoying time with friends and family, do it wholeheartedly and you are bound to get the most out of it. This is not to say that you will succeed one hundred percent of the time, but it is a good principle to live by. Like it is often said, failure is not failing down; it is refusing to get up after you have fallen. One place where I fell a few times was sixth form. Your two years at junior college is a time to find yourself—spiritually, socially and academically as you enjoy the almost total freedom of post secondary education.”
Also taking the podium was 2013 CSEC Most Outstanding Candidate, Xiaowen Huang from E.P. Yorke High School. Huang, in her address, advised that one must first ‘listen’ and then ‘do’ in order to receive favorable results in the exams.
Xiaowen Huang
Xiaowen Huang, 2013 CSEC Most Outstanding Candidate
“Look at how many of us from various schools across this beautiful jewel receiving national awards for regional success. Each school has its own ambition and therefore its own level of success. Likewise, each individual here today has his or her own definition of success. Whatever your definition of success may be, there is something that I am certain all of us can agree on. Success is not an accident. You will not stumble on success as you go along life’s journey. You have to prepare for it. Success requires perseverance, preparation and promptness.”
Congratulations to all awardees, who received certificates of excellence and recognition while some also received certificates in both CAPE and CSEC for individual subject awards. Duane Moody for News Five.
