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| Minister of Commerce and Trade, Senator Haynesley Benn (FP) |
The words ???purpose’, ???dreams’ and ???goals’ were used to inspire graduates of the St. Mary’s Primary School yesterday, as Minister of Commerce and Trade, Senator Haynesley Benn, addressed their graduation ceremony at New Dimensions Ministries, Barbarees Hill, St. Michael.
In speaking about the event’s theme, Imagine Me, Mr. Benn encouraged the students to emulate their heroes and craft their path based on what they hoped to achieve.??
"Before you can proceed on any great journey, you must have a dream," Mr. Benn said, adding that "We all need something worthwhile to aim for.?? A dream provides us with that.?? It acts as a compass, telling us the direction we should go.?? Never be afraid to dream big," he stressed, while advising the students to envision their future.
The Commerce Minister reminded the students that nothing could be achieved without first experiencing some type of failure, and he offered his own challenges as a testament to the fact that one could still achieve despite stumbling blocks.??
"Much will depend on how you handle failure. Turn your mistakes into stepping stones for success.?? One of the greatest problems people have with failure is that they are too quick to judge situations and label them as failures.??
"Every failure you experience is a fork in the road.?? It is an opportunity to take the right action, to learn from your mistakes, and move on," he said.
Many of the 59 graduates were recognised for their achievements both in and out of the classroom, including: Crystal Grosvenor and Hakeem Best, who received the Sir Carlisle and Lady Burton Prize for Top Boy and Top Girl; Indal Persaud and Tyler Small, who earned the Orman Warde Memorial Challenge Trophy for the Most Outstanding Cricketers; and Tyler Small and Tishana Barker, who earned the Sonja Hall Scholarship for Achievement Against the Odds.