We have not one but twin OPEN scholars in our Parish this year! Darrin and Darren Clement, both former Altar Servers and guitarists in our Choir have won this great honour. God Bless them and may they continue to succeed as they study medicine! Point Fortin twins win Open Schols By Vashtee Achibar Tuesday, October 14 2014 THEY were born together, they were in the same class at school, they both want to become medical doctors and now they are sharing a room at UWI, Mona, Jamaica, where they are studying medicine. So it was no surprise when twin brothers Darrin and Darren Clement, 19, both won Open Scholarships in the recent CAPE examinations from St Benedict’s College in La Romaine. The school won a total of six scholarships, three Open and three Additional. Contacted in Jamaica, Darrin and Darren said they were both surprised they won Open Scholarships and that they were not expecting it. Darren said he did his best because he “wanted to elevate his school. Part of the reason I was studying so hard was because I wanted to do the best for my school, to lift the image of St Benedict’s.” Darrin said he “focused on his studies as he realised it was a stepping stone to greater things.” The two are yet to decide on what particular field of medicine they eventually want to specialise in. The teens expressed heartfelt thanks to God, their parents, teachers, and close friends who all helped in their success. Meanwhile their proud parents, Carlyle and Genevieve Clement, who are both retired, were basking in the double celebration when Newsday arrived at their New Village, Point Fortin, home yesterday. The Clements have six children and the twin boys are the last. Their four older children have all done well academically, with their eldest son, Damien, being a professor at a university in West Virginia in the US. Their second child, Dominique, holds a Master’s in sports education. The third, Da-Shawn, is a teacher at Rio Claro East Secondary and the fourth, Donelle, is a business analyst at Petrotrin. Genevieve admitted to being surprised that her boys had won Open Scholarships but not shocked as the boys showed promise from an early age. She recalled that one of their classmates, Romauld Johnson, who also won an Open Scholarship from St Benedict’s College, used to be at the top of the class while her boys were second and third. She credits part of their success to their very caring babysitters, Clarence and Cynthia Wilson, who looked after them while she and her husband were at work. Genevieve said both Darren and Darrin expressed an interest in studying medicine from Form I. “I told them if you want to study medicine you have to focus on the sciences and pay attention in class,” she said. As they grew older she said she organised a time table for them and would track down past papers for them to do. “I never had a problem with them to study. Yes they had their free times for hike and other extracurricular activities (the boys were both guitarists at the Point Fortin Roman Catholic Church). TV and Facebook were for weekends. They knew what they had to do and did it,” the proud mother said. As the boys’ workload increased, Genevieve decided to take early retirement to assist them further. “It was hard work, but it paid off. I have to give God the glory. He was instrumental in their success,” she said. In response to his sons copping the Open Scholarships, Carlyle said he was not surprised as “they had both worked hard and hard work always pays off.” He related how he gave up overtime duties at his workplace at Trinmar, where he worked as an HSE inspector, just to be able to transport his boys to lessons three times a week. He said because of the distance the boys lived from their school, he had to be there to assist them. He used the opportunity to call for the San Fernando to Point Fortin Highway to be completed, saying commuters who travel the route know of the difficulties faced on a daily basis. Both Carlyle and his wife expressed thanks to former principal Earl Alcide, current principal Paulette Reefer and their sons’ teachers, as well as those who gave extra lessons, for their sons’ successes. Carlyle urged parents to be good examples to their children and to set down rules and guidelines in the home. He also advised parents to pray with their children if they want them to be successful. Meanwhile, former principal Alcide, who retired in March, told Newsday that the six scholarships won by St Benedicts was the best parting gift he could have gotten from his school. He said he knew the boys from Form One and even at that age they showed great promise.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 17:09:04 +0000
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