Queen’s College student triumphs

Sixteen-year-old, Sharon Gittens, a student in Lower Six at Queen’s College beat out seven other children from five secondary schools in the finals of the Co-operators General Insurance Company Speak-Off to capture first place.

 

Speaking to The Barbados Advocate after the competition, she said that she chose the topic of “Should Barbados have laws governing drinking and driving?” Some of the areas that she touched on were the effects of alcohol on the body and how it can impact driving because it impacts the brain, which affects information processing and motor skills, all of which are necessary for driving. She also talked about the need to introduce the breathalyser test.

 

Gittens did her research by reading up on newspaper articles and facts from the President of the Barbados Road Safety Association, Sharmane Roland-Bowen and the Acting Assistant Superintendent at the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), Roland Stanford.

 

She said that it took her about two weeks to put together the information.

 

Her advice for those participating in the competition next year is to be confident. “Just be confident. Don’t look at other people. Focus on what you have to do. Make sure you come with your facts and don’t be afraid to ask for advice from other people.

 

Second place winner, 17-year-old Britney Sealy, a Lower Six student from The St. Michael School, said that she chose to write on “Should laws be instituted to curb drinking and driving in Barbados?”

 

Some of the points that she raised were the need for the breathalyser tests because while we do have a law currently, it cannot be instituted where you can say that the accident was caused because this person was drunk. Therefore, she spoke on the need to include certain things that were missing in the law.

 

She obtained her research from newspaper articles and speaking to experts in the field, including Co-Operators. It took her a month to compile the information.

 

Her advice to students who are planning on entering next year, is to let their voices be heard.

 

“Get involved. It is really a wonderful competition and you can allow the public to hear your voice, and as a young person I think that is very important. It allows other people to know that we have a voice and we are important.”

 

Third place winner, Rondell Trim of Harrison College said that he chose the topic of “Should the Barbados National Building Code be passed into law?” Some of the points that he raised were to imagine if Hurricane Matthew had hit Barbados and houses weren’t up to par and to learn from what happened in Haiti.

 

This is the second time that he is entered the competition. He placed sixth last year. He said that he conducted his research online where he looked at things like the building code and the consequences of having poor housing.

 

It took him about two to three weeks to put together his research. His advice to those entering next year is – to stay relaxed.

 

“Don’t put too much stress on yourself because the stress itself will cause you to not do as good as you were hoping to. What the judges do look for are diction and how you convey yourself.”