 Senior managers, other members of the Slasberg family, parents and scholarship recipients, the media, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2018 Senutia ANC Ports Authority Scholarship Awards ceremony. My name is Marva Greenwich, and I have the distinct pleasure of leading you through today's proceedings. To begin, I would like to call on Ms. Karine Sharley, Administration Officer to deliver a word of prayer. Can we all stand, please? Gracious God and Heavenly Father, your name is highly to be praised. We thank you, O Lord, for all the blessings you have bestowed upon us. At this time, we think especially of our scholarship students who have worked so hard and are now seeing the fruits of their labor. Father, we pray for your continued blessings upon them. Help them to remain steadfast in their studies. Help them to remain steadfast in their resolution to be successful. Father, keep them always with the right attitude that they may do well in all their endeavors. We pray for their parents and guardians that you will continue to bless them and that they will provide the proper guidance. We pray for their friends that they will be a source of blessing. Father, we thank you for everyone gathered here and we pray your blessings upon these proceedings in the name of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you, Corrine. And for the introduction, I'd like to call to the podium Mrs. Amy Henry DeMille, who is the manager for Employee Relations. Mrs. Henry DeMille. Good afternoon, everyone. Today, I feel very privileged and honored to stand here in front of everyone, to acknowledge the achievements and of course the brilliant students who have made their parents, the Slasper family and of course themselves, very proud. We have gathered here not just to celebrate the achievements of our students, but to give due regard to our values and morals which awards exemplify like discipline, compassion and zeal for learning. For the past 20 years. With protocol already being established, I would like to bid you all a pleasant afternoon. I hold the honor of congratulating the new recipients of the St. Lucia Air and Seaports Authority's Scholarship Program on the applaudable performances at the 2018 Common Entrance Examination. Also to express a sincerest gratitude to Slasper for the scholarship these five past years on behalf of the receiving group of 2013. This scholarship has motivated me to maintain or even go beyond my standard of academic performance as I felt that I only did not have to make myself and my parents proud, but also this organization. It really is a privilege to hold a scholarship awarded by Slasper. I would like you to utilize this prestigious opportunity as an incentive to be determined and persevere in your studies so that you can retain this benefit during your tenure at your various schools. You must not become complacent. Common Entrance was just a stepping stone to the new level of academic tasks you will acquire at your secondary schools. It can be difficult, but only you can make it manageable through great organization skills, time and self-management and hard work, and these are just a few skills I learned from the Slasper training sessions for the scholarship holders. I would like to commend the Senusia Air and Seaports Authority for maintaining such a beneficial program. This organization displays openly its belief in the youth and cultivating them for a brighter future. Congratulations once more, scholars, on your receipt of this scholarship, and I wish you all the best on your new phase, on your academic journey. I also would like to reiterate my heartfelt gratitude to Slasper for the scholarship. You really do compliment us on our every move. I thank you. Thank you very much, Yasha, and as promised, you delivered. Thank you. Now, there comes a time to hear from our guest speaker, who is Mrs. Estelle Blanchard, and she has been a program coordinator for some time, but I'll give you a little bit of information about her for those of you who do not know. Mrs. Estelle Blanchard has been a teacher for the past 45 years, having taught at the Anglican Infant and Primary Schools and the Casteries Comprehensive Secondary School, my alma mater, I should say. Miss Dalsy's own too, right? There she is smiling away. Although recently retired from the teaching service, she's currently a Common Entrance Supervisor and a CXC Marker. Mrs. Blanchard now serves as a member of the Adjunct Staff of Sir Arthur Lewis Community College Teachers Division for Teaching Practice and an External Supervisor for the past three years. Mrs. Blanchard has a degree in Curriculum Studies and she obtained an OAS scholarship where she pursued a master's in Educational Administration at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. She's also, as I mentioned earlier, program coordinator for the SITOP Youth Club, a member of the Substance Abuse Advisory Council Secretariat and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Without further ado, Mrs. Blanchard. Madam Chairperson, please allow me to adopt a protocol that has been established. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. When Ms. Oghiz asked me to speak at this award ceremony, I immediately responded, why me? She then said, I have you down as guest speaker. Wow, some people have a unique way of doing things. I then thought, I am a scholarship recipient too, so why not me? I received an OAS scholarship to pursue a master's in Educational Administration at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. So it is indeed an honor to be part of a ceremony of this type. First of all, I must congratulate all awardees for their success and commend the Slasper family, especially the parents for creating the platform that will enable you to unlock your true potential for it is their hard work and dedication that made this moment possible. As we embrace the theme leap towards success, we focus on learn, excel, adapt, persevere. I would like you to be mindful of two important dimensions this afternoon. Number one, awardees, find your purpose. And I stress on your purpose. Everyone has their own time and clock. You have to create meaningful, purposeful, and fulfilling lives for yourselves and learn to use it to make an impact and difference in the lives of others. That's true success. One may ask, how can this be done? Set your goals and persevere in achieving them. Dream more than others think is practical. Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, 1994 to 1999 dreamed of making his own contribution to the freedom struggle of his people. He realized that through education, dreams and goals can be achieved. He stated, and I quote, education is a great engine of personal development. It is through education that a daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mind worker can become the head of the mind, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make of what we have and not what we are given that separates one person from another. End of quote. I dare add, one of Slasper's scholarship awardees can be the GM of Slasper. What is your dream? Do you have a dream if you don't create one? One can only leap towards success if you believe that you can and you will. To those students who are transitioning from primary to secondary school, your world has now expanded and learning is now your responsibility. The technology is at your fingertips. You have the tools, use them. Don't wait on teachers to tell you to read the text or revise or that your assignments are due. It is your duty to deliver and excel. To those awardees who are in the final year of secondary education, I need you to do some introspection. Have you run the course well? Have you achieved your goals thus far? How can you produce excellent results? And to those who are entering the walls of tertiary education, do so with a purpose. It is not time to envy those who are taking the education for granted in so many ways. Example, procrastinating, substance abuse, excessive curricular activities are the sacrifice of the future. Having found your purpose, the second dimension this afternoon is to be thankful. This is a word we don't hear these days. Barack Obama, president of the United States of America, 2009 to 2017 stated, what an amazing gift is to help people. So I encourage you to develop a spirit of gratitude. Stop finding fault in everything and everyone. Scripture tells us that each moment, each day is a test. Mahatma Gandhi also stated, and I quote, the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. This is now a call awardees for you to give back. There's so many ways you can do this. I have heard that SASPA has a family day. You can be part of it. Get involved. After the completion of my studies, I committed myself to in the service of others. As a program coordinator of Sightop Youth Club, I've given back by being actively involved in the drug-free program and caring for the needy by distributing food and clothing to people in all communities all over St. Lucia, Ufort Library, you name it. So beautiful. There are lots of needy people out there who are just waiting for help in hand. So once again, awardees, I congratulate you on your achievement and I implore you to, one, find your purpose and persevere. And two, be grateful and give back in whatever way possible. God loves a cheerful giver. I thank you. Thank you very much, Mrs. Banshad. I'm sure you all took home or will take home some of the great advice she gave, right? Did I didn't hear any, yes? Beautiful, beautiful. They've already started. And now the time I'm sure you all have been waiting for, presentation of the 2018 scholarships. And for that, another lady who's been very passionate from inception about the scholarship program, Ms. Beverly Dulcy, who's the manager of administration. I'd like to call her to the front here to deliver the scholarships. And it is by a separate hand to her. Oh, Karine, Karine, yes. Karine will be handed, good, good, great. We shall begin to recognize the excellent performance at the 2018 CXC examinations. Our first recipient, Mr. Guy Shabbatis. Round of applause. Thank you. Yasha Satney, back to the podium or to the front, I should say. Nice smile. Thank you. Zeda Joy Peter. Here comes Joy. Thank you, Joy. Jasmine Stanislas. Tyrese Alexander. Daniela Edwin. Okay, thank you, Ms. Dulcy. Thank you very much, Ms. Dulcy. And now our financial controller, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Keith Thompson to deliver the rest. For the new secondary school scholarship recipients for 2018 and to 2023. Mr. Thompson, okay. And here comes Sefer to assist him. We shall begin with Savannah John. Erica Gasper. Yuri Glasgow. The beginning of many opportunities, I'm sure. Devin Phillip. Thank you. And there's more, Mr. Thompson. Outgoing tertiary scholarship recipients 2016 to 2018. Faith Sorrell. Okay, could someone accept on her behalf? Okay, well, we shall move right along. New tertiary scholarship recipients for 2018 to 2020. Zeda Joy Peter. Tyrese Alexander. And Guy Gray. Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Thompson. Ms. Beverly Dulcy, back to the podium for one other presentation. You know, we do play in musical chairs more or less. We all need to exercise and stay fit. So that's my way of getting them fit, back and forth. A presentation to the Slasper Sports and Culture Club. And Ms. Dulcy, you'll have more and more members come up to receive the big check. Gina McPhee, who would grace us with her presence. And I'm sure you must have seen Gina on our pot call. Just a little plug for pot call on Tori's TV. Thank you very much, Gina, Sefer. And of course, Ms. Dulcy, thank you very much. And we've heard so many speakers. We've had outgoing and what have you. Now, remarks from an incoming scholarship recipient in the name of Ms. Erica Gasper. Afternoon. As a recipient of Slasper's scholarship for this academic year, I am not only elated but also eternally grateful to God for such a blessing. This scholarship will no doubt be of great help to me and my family, considering both my students and myself are in the mid-stage of our academic journey. This is indeed additional motivation for me to continue to persevere in working hard to maintain my grades. I strongly believe maintaining good grades and being a model student is the best way I can continue to express appreciation and gratitude to Slasper for this great act of kindness. This gift from Slasper reminds me of one light my parents always repeated to us, hard and honest with pays. This scholarship is certainly a living testimony to that fact. Considering I am among a number of other scholarship recipients, let me take this opportunity on their behalf to express profound gratitude to the St. Lucia Air and Seaport Authority for the valuable support extended to us. We will try our best to make ourselves, our parents and you, Slasper, proud. I sincerely thank you. Very nice, Erica, and we look forward to major improvements and achievements, I should say. Achievements. And now for the closing remarks, I'd like to call to the podium our Acting Human Resource Officer, Employee Development, Ms. Sefra Oguiz. I would like to begin by saying what a great honor it is to be standing here in front of our future successes. I hope and pray that the greatness that you have exhibited in your academic year through hard work and dedication is a true depiction of your future successes. I would like to express a special thank you to our high achievers for making us proud. I would also like to thank the parents, special invited guests, sponsors, management and staff of Slasper for the role that they have played and will continue to play in the progress of our youth and future generation. Awardees, as you are about to embark on a new chapter in your lives, I would like to share a few quotes with you for reflection. Please listen and never forget these quotes as they may help you understand life itself, not just its challenges, but opportunities as well. One, accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else. Two, when you truly want success, you will never give up, no matter how bad the situation may get. One of the most important keys to success is having the discipline to do what you know you should do, even when you don't feel like doing it. Three, good things come to those who eat, greater things come to those who get off their chair and do anything to make it happen. In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. When you say it's hard, it actually means I'm not strong enough to fight for it. Stop saying it's hard. Five, the best revenge is massive success. Number six, when the past calls, let it go to voicemail. Believe me, it has nothing new to say. Number seven, life has two rules. Never quit, always remember rule number one. Never forget that no one is going to hand you success. Go out and get it. That's why you are here, to dominate, to conquer, both the world and yourself. Thank you. Thank you very much, Sefra. And I'd like to say on behalf of the entire team, a special thanks to Mr. Richmond Felix and his entire team here at NTN GIS Studios, please give them the round of applause. And thank you for being here today. We'd like to serve some refreshments after this and we'll have a photo of opportunity, obviously. Okay, thank you.