Denise Reid, Gleaner Writer

Ricardo Palmer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Chalking up his tally of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects, Munro College student, Ricardo Palmer, gets a score of one dozen; with 10 distinctions and two credits no less!

At 11, Ricardo, then a student at Howard Cooke Primary, won the 2001-02 Gleaner-Children's Own Spelling Bee Parish Championship and then went on to place third in the island. Ricardo says his "moment of realisation" came when he was placed first in his class at age seven. "I realised I had a special ability then," he said, adding that with encouragement from his parents, he committed himself to always be successful.

Among top three

Since then, he has been among the top three students in his classes throughout high school, except the ninth grade, where, in addition to the regular curriculum, Ricardo scored two distinctions in the challenging areas of information technology and social studies.

Ricardo believes his Christian values have contributed to his success. "I have a very strong belief in God, and ask Him to lead the way. God must be at the forefront of everything," he said.

His faith no doubt gave him the confidence to pursue 10 subjects in the 11th grade, two of which he undertook in November of last year. He admits that it was challenging, as "sometimes the volume of work to be covered seemed discouraging".

Palmer states that God, his ambition, and encouragement from friends and family are among the things that inspire him. In addition, a key to his success is continuous self-evaluation. He said he constantly meditates and reflects.

Headley Palmer, Ricardo's father, said: "His mother and I are very proud of his achievements." He said they expected their son to do well because "he sets a precedent for himself which he adheres to, so we were confident that he would do well". He also said that Ricardo has had excellent teachers who helped to cement his success.

We want to hear from you!

Do you have or know of someone who passed six or more subjects in the 2007 CXC examinations? Email us with name and other contact information: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223.