Former head girl bats for spotlight on forgotten district
Published:Friday | December 10, 2021 | 12:06 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
A former head girl from a deep-rural St Elizabeth community said the secret to success of many children where she is from is the encouragement.
Shantoy Campbell, who is also a former national under-19 cricketer, hails from Quickstep district. She is also a former head girl of Maggotty High School.
Campbell is one of at least eight former student body heads to have risen from very humble beginnings to lead the charge as student heads of high schools in the Breadbasket Parish of St Elizabeth.
The Gleaner understands that over the last eight years, Campbell and five other past students of Quickstep Primary held the esteemed positions at high schools throughout the parish.
They were raised from very small communities, little-known Quickstep and adjoining Pullet Hall. Campbell said they are always encouraged to be the difference.
“Maybe because of the fact that many persons always see us as like being little and not having to reach anywhere, so persons normally push us and tell us that we have to make it,” she told The Gleaner.
Campbell was head girl 2019 to 2020.
Ana Marie Reid, also from Quickstep, was head girl at Roger Clarke High, formerly Balaclava High, in 2011/2012.
Former Lacovia High School head boy 2018-2019 Delano Bingham, is also from Quickstep.
Vanessa Watson, Maggotty High School 2017-2018 head girl, Himran Foreshaw, St Elizabeth Technical High School 2017-2018 head boy, and Ashley Chue, Maggotty High 2015-2016 head girl are all graduates of Quickstep Primary School, but lived in Pullet Hall district.
Campbell believes once investment is done in youths from these communities you can never go wrong.
“I think Quickstep has a lot of persons who are both academically and good in extracurricular activities (especially athletics)”, she told The Gleaner.
She is now an aspiring teacher and thinks students from small communities need more attention.
“So they (children) basically go to school but at the end of the day they don’t show themselves because of lack of interest and lack of confidence,” Campbell said, citing that there is a lot of potential in the forgotten districts.