Queen’s College Principal, Dr. David Browne (left), in conversation with Feature Speaker for the Prize Giving and Award Ceremony, Dr. Sharon Marshall.
Amanda Knight with the Asish Malesu Memorial Prize for Outstanding results in CXC CSEC Examinations; Very Good Work in CXC CSEC Economics; Very Good Work in CXC CSEC POA; the Flora Jordan prize for excellent work in CXC CSEC Geography; Netballer of the Year; the Eagle Award in recognition of leadership qualities; and Outstanding performance in sports and academic achievement.
Shortcuts are not always the best route that you can take in life.
Dr. Sharon Marshall made this clear as she delivered the feature address at the Queen’s College (QC) Prize Giving and Award Ceremony recently at the school.
She highlighted a case of a pasture near where she lives which vehicles sometimes use as a shortcut to avoid traffic. On this particular day, a truck took that road and ended up getting its wheels stuck in the mud, as it had been raining, and they tried for a good while to get out, until finally one of the passengers went and got help, and as this incident unfolded, she realised that if only they had just used the main road, they would never have gotten into this mess in the first place.
She said that there is a lot to be learnt from this incident.
“Not every shortcut always turns [out] to be the best route to take. Sometimes it seems to be so much trouble to take all the steps that you know are required to accomplish something. It’s tempting to strip a few in order to get to the end more quickly. More often than not, it can result in just a minor annoyance of losing time or money.”
Dr. Marshall said there have been tremendous consequences of man-made disasters that have occurred because persons decided to take a shortcut.
Another lesson that you persons can learn from this incident is that you must be aware of the road that you plan to take.
“You should be aware of the terrain that you are tempted to travel... Be aware of what might seem to be an attractive activity or event that you might be invited to participate in. Do your homework and investigate the possible consequences rather than just diving right in.”
Thirdly, just as the four-wheel truck was the wrong vehicle for the muddy road to take, so too the youth must ensure that they have the right equipment for the given task. For example, if they want to pursue a career in medicine, then they must take the required three Sciences.
She told the youth that when they see others getting ahead and they are stuck in a rut, they must make the decision of whether to follow these two aforementioned things, or to do something that would compromise their integrity.
Dr. Marshall also reminded them that they must never be so busy with going along with their business that they cannot stop to help someone in need and to remember that no matter how difficult life can get, that there is always a higher power for they can call on for assistance.