From left: Hospitality mentor Makieba Gibs, Director of the Sundial School Mireille Regales-Peterson and Valedictorian of class 2023 Edwin Mendez.
CAY HILL--Sundial School Valedictorian of Class 2023 Edwin Mendez is the essence of what you can achieve with hard-work and determination. The young graduate transitioned from a new student barely being able to speak any English, facing bouts of bullying and teasing to overcoming these obstacles and excelling as top student among his peers.
Mendez was introduced by his mentor Makieba Gibs as a student who grew tremendously in a short time. She expressed her pride in what he was able to achieve during his time at Sundial, “you showed yourself and you proved that anything is possible. You were diligent consistent, dependable, motivated, hard working very helpful, kind, extremely cocky but you persevered,” she added.
In his valedictorian speech, he shared his story of arriving to St. Maarten from the Dominican Republic. At this time he only spoke Spanish. He quickly noted that English was widely spoken especially at school. Not being able to speak the English language proved to be very difficult in the beginning. Not only with trying to fit-in among his peers, but to carry out simply tasks such as purchasing an apple in the grocery store. “Now, I’m here with an accent and I can buy the whole grocery store. It may be something small for you, but for me it was difficult to overcome,” said Mendez.
He did not allow this to be a determent and with time he learned the language. “It was not easy,” he noted. Mendez shared that as he got a better grasp of the language, his grades improved, his confidence followed. Even his thick accent no longer became a bother to him.
In closing Mendez shared his hopes that his experience will make persons in the audience think about those individuals who come to live among us from a different country and be empathic to them as they try to fit into our community.
Mendez was just one among 29 students who graduated in a ceremony on Thursday, June 29 held at the Belair Community Center in Cay Hill. In the hospitality sector there were four graduates, in the care and wellness sector there were 25 graduates.
General Director of Foundation for the Advancement of Secondary Education Windward Islands SVOBE Jacquelyn Duggins-Horsford and Director of the Sundial School Mireille Regales-Peterson both noted in their individual speech why this group of graduates were quite special. They faced many challenges and setbacks stemming from the COVID pandemic and the lingering effects are still experienced today. Despite this they were able to overcome and succeed.
Duggins-Horsford reminded students of the accomplishment, that they have achieved, in the future when they may face trials. She reminded them to take head of the ceremony’s theme during these times.
Regales-Peterson encouraged the graduates to be the change and to continue to shine bright. Gwendolyn Holiday, on behalf of the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS) Rodolphe Samuel expressed congratulatory remarks to the graduates students on their achievements and encouraged to continue to excel in their future endeavours.
Five graduates; Edwin Mendez, Isabela Anthony-Hernandez, N’Tonya Richardson-Rombley, Eliani Gregoria Vargas and Steven Richardson were all presented with awards for their outstanding educational performances.
