Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 22, 2019 (SKNIS): Members of the Federal Parliament of St. Kitts and Nevis met for a special sitting on Thursday evening (November 21, 2019) to pay tribute to the 2019 class of the 25 Most Remarkable Teens.
This marks the 9th annual staging of the award ceremony that is organized by the Department of Youth Empowerment. Awards are presented to persons between the ages of 12 and 19 years who have excelled in traditional and non-traditional fields. Some of the areas are Music, Academics, Dance, Scholar Athlete, Courage to Overcome, Visual Arts, Spiritual Commitment, Entrepreneurship, Volunteerism, Personal Decision to Change and many more.
This year’s awardees are Colin Norford Jr.- Music; Abigail O’Flaherty – Scholar Athlete; Ta-jaroh Stapleton – Academics; Shanelly Hinds – Courage to Overcome and Dance; Chinue Bradshaw – Academics; Anya Seetahal – Dance; Gabrielle Myers – Academics and Courage to Overcome, and Shanté Anslyn – Visual Arts. Awards were also presented to Keneah Romney – Scholar Athlete; Khalique Martin – Photography; Johnisha Rawlins – Academics and Spiritual Commitment; Jeriella Liburd – Courage to Overcome; Aushaun Brown – Academics; Alesha Kelly – Scholar Athlete and Patriotism; Bionca Berry – Environmental Science, and Christi-Anne Mills – Scholar Athlete and Sports. The evening’s other awardees were Arljanique Ward – Spiritual Commitment; Zwena Jones – Entrepreneurship; Tiquanny Williams – Sports; Curjé Stevens – Personal Decision to Change; Tyquan Rogers – Sports; Zedan Clarke – Sports and Performing Arts; Dahlia Slack – Academics; Hailey Morris – Music, and Safin Connor – Academics and Leadership.
Governor-General, His Excellency Sir S. W. Tapley Seaton sent a congratulatory message to the 25 awardees that was read by the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Honourable Michael Perkins. In the message, Sir Tapley said “the pursuit of [a] life of service will be beneficial for not only you but to our nation. Your efforts are therefore much welcomed and encouraged as we endeavour to be responsible global citizens to which all of you serve as exemplars to inspire your peers and others.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Youth, the Honourable Shawn Richards expressed similar sentiments as he addressed the packed National Assembly Chambers.
“This evening is an affirmation that the young people of St. Kitts and Nevis have answered the call to service and are poised to enter adulthood with a great sense of accomplishment and purpose,” Honourable Richards stated. “Tonight, I am, therefore, honoured to celebrate these remarkable young individuals for taking the road less travelled and for standing out when it was so much easier to stand down.”
The deputy prime minister added that “Mr. Speaker, I must admit, however, that what’s most remarkable about the teens whom we are here to celebrate is that many of them rose from the ashes of dire circumstances and surmounted varying degrees of personal difficulties to achieve this recognition. This, in all appearances, is an indication of their innate ability to harness their inner motivation and outward means to propel life forward in purposeful directions. Undeniably, it is a testament to the skills, ambition, autonomy, commitment, resolve and resilience of our nation’s youth.”
After Minister Richard’s address, a summary of the profiles of each 25 Most Remarkable Teen was read in the National Assembly. The award was then presented to the teens by a Member of Parliament.