Graduates urged to add good to the world

By Shamar Blunt

There is always some good and happiness we can add to the world. This was the message delivered by principal of the Parkinson Memorial School, Ian Holder, during the school’s 2021 graduation ceremony held recently at the Daphne Joseph Hackett Theatre.

While speaking to this year’s graduating class, Holder congratulated the students for their perseverance and determination to complete their studies, even in the midst of the ever-raging COVID-19 pandemic.

Holder also expressed his hope, that as the students depart from their secondary school life and enter a new world, they grab every opportunity available to them, but more importantly, add some much-needed good into the current world.

“You cannot give the world all of the good that it needs, but the world needs all of the good that you do. As an individual, contribute to the goodness of life and be a good person.” “One of the things about being a good person is that people like you, they want to be your friend. If you have been in a situation where every place you go people don’t want to see you, it can’t be the people that are the problem.

People like good people, they gravitate towards good people, they want to be around them, and they have a lot of friends… that is what I want from you.

The best way to move forward in life, no matter what else you have to do if you [are good towards persons] everything else in life will be easier for you to achieve,” he said Valedictorian Sarah-Ann Drakes, thanked the teachers and students for their dedication over the past year and for working as hard as they did, despite the trials caused by COVID-19.

Drakes also called on her fellow classmates to stay determined in their pursuits as they go on to new beginnings.

“COVID came knocking at our doors, volcanic ash, a freak storm, and Hurricane Elsa… there was much uncertainty, fear, and doubt, but we all came through as we know that all Parkinsonians are fighters, we get the job done. Against all odds, we have blossomed into mature men and women, who believe that we can do anything.

“We have recognized that once there is determination, we can be the best and have excellent success stories…we may be sad as we come to the end of this journey.

Have we done enough? Have we done our best? Whatever the response may be, the truth is, we are about to embark on a new chapter.”
Outgoing guidance counselor Julia Edey delivered the feature address.