Wilson
Smart is indeed the new sexy and Darnell Wilson, a student of the St Mary’s College is a mere representation of that statement.
In a society where many are fashion, party and glam-focused, this top achiever, who has secured seven grade one’s and two grade two’s after sitting the Caribbean Secondary Examination (CSEC) at form three level, is bent on making history in St Lucia.
The 16-year-old told St Lucia News Online (SNO) in an exclusive interview that he plans on sitting 21 subjects in the upcoming in the 2015 CSEC examination.
Wilson said the inspiration behind this venture is multifaceted.
“It emanates from many areas, a pursuit of excellence basically. I don’t just see it as a quantum in reference to CXCs. I would go just for excellence, try to defy a barrier that was set for our island and for our people.”
Wilson told SNO he has a deep passion for everything he does and balances his study with social activities such as spending time with his friends, playing soccer and cricket.
“You have to find the perfect balance, you can’t always be about academics, so I try to balance my time; I try to split it about.”
The top achiever said he would advise other students to do the same and to strive for perfection. “Go after what you want, raise the bar and go for excellence,” he added.
Asked to comment on the poor pass rates in English on island, Wilson stated that it has to do with expression and the manner in which persons express ideas.
“I have realised that throughout our society, especially our West Indian-infused culture, that persons tend to use a lot of colloquialism and when they use it in the writing they do not use it in the form of a dialogue, they use it arbitrarily,” he explained.
The infusion of the two, he noted, might be the reason behind the shortcomings of many and a definite area that needs attention.
His father, Dr. Syls Wilson, said that he is proud of his son and is fully supportive of his aspirations.
Dr. Wilson said he believes that Darnell is more than capable of achieving his goals and is in no way interested in restricting his move, but rather to provide the suitable environment to assist him.
He said: “I believe that this is the responsibility we have as parents, we need to inspire the kids adequately, we need to dig deep and provide them with the environment and brainstorm with them, and also be critical and look at their performance from a positive standpoint.”
Dr. Wilson told SNO that his son has always been meticulous and that is something he noticed in his son from a very young age. The aspiring aeronautical engineer or nanotechnologist is hopeful that he could raise the standards throughout the education system.