By Francine Black, Staff Reporter"HE HAS conquered". This is just one of the phrases used to describe young achiever, 22-year-old O'Neil Simpson, who recently won the Inter-American Press Association's (IAPA), 2003 Chapultepec Essay Competition.
The outspoken and easy going young man describes his win as "very unexpected". According to him, after entering last year and losing to a professional journalist from Costa Rica, he had no intentions of entering again this year.
VERY SUPPORTIVE PARENTS
However, he was encouraged by his mother and father to give it another try. He remembers quite clearly the day he was inspired to pen the winning words.
"I was studying and having difficulty grasping the material, when a feeling came over me to write the essay. So I went to the library and did the research and wrote it. I barely read it over twice before submitting it," he said.
This marks the 11th essay win for O'Neil, having previously won others such as the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation; World Health Organisation; and Organisation of American States competitions.
O'Neil will journey to Chicago for a six-day trip to receive his US$2,500 award at the IAPA general assembly. He leaves the island today.
Despite his achievements, O'Neil comes from humble beginnings. He was grown in a middle class home in the quiet district of Mount Carey in rural St. James.
DEDICATED CHRISTIAN
A dedicated Christian, he attributes his successes to God and the strong support of his parents. "In a country and a time when it's becoming unusual for people to have a good family... I consider what I received as tantamount," he said.
Nicknamed 'The Freak' for his ability to excel, O'Neil, who has developed a love for travel, meeting people and cultural exchanges, hopes to pursue a career in diplomacy law.
He is currently pursuing a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration at the University of the West Indies. He also has plans to further his studies abroad in cultural anthropology, history and modern languages.
The Chapultepec Essay Competition is a contest introduced by IAPA to raise public awareness about freedom of expression and the press in the Americas. O'Neil is the second Jamaican to have won the competition which started in 1994.
