Despite the death of her mother, E’bo woman triumphs to become valedictorian

Candace Smith, who hails from the Cinderella County of Essequibo, faced difficulties continuing her studies after completing high school because of the death of her mother.

Now, she is graduating as the valedictorian of the GROW scholarship 2021/2022 Programme – a story of triumph that has inspired many.

Smith gave a heartfelt speech during her graduation ceremony at the National Cultural Centre on Tuesday as she reflected on her journey to this achievement.

The young woman said she graduated from the Aurora Secondary School as the best student in Principle of Business and she intended to pursue her tertiary education at a university.

Like many students living in Region Two, she decided to relocate to Georgetown but before she could move forward with her tertiary level studies, her mother died.

“The death of my mother was very painful but God’s mercy kept me.

“…then came my changed season. When I decided that I was in a better place, the government did a great thing,” she said.

Smith took up the opportunity to benefit from one of the 20,000 scholarships that were offered by the government.

“There was no excuse, so I took up my mantle and applied for the Business Management programme in 2021,” she said.

Smith constantly reminded herself that she could complete a degree programme. As such, she completed the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Level 6 diploma from the Jain University, in India.

Six months later, she embarked on her journey to acquire her Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Hospitality. She offered special thanks to President Dr Irfaan Ali and by extension the Government of Guyana for making her dreams a reality and also thanked her family and friends for their support.

Meanwhile, the valedictorian for the class of 2022/2023, Africa McPherson also shared words of encouragement to her fellow graduates, calling on them to pursue higher education.

According to McPherson, all the graduates endured countless late nights studying and still had to go to their work and repeat that daily routine for six months. She believes the graduates deserve to be proud of their achievement.

“My fellow graduates, we have our own story of our struggles and successes. Whatever we accomplish has a permanent mark on us. For the past months we struggled with late nights and studying… you gave your best in everything,” she said. (Lazeena Yearwood)