GUYANESE born students have always had a way of making waves in the education systems all over the world when given the opportunity.

One such student is 18-year-old Shemar Davenport, who recently received scholarships to six universities in the United States, including Kennesaw State University, Georgia Perimeter and Tuskegee University.

Davenport, who migrated to the US in 2014, said that his transition from Guyana was somewhat difficult, especially in the school system. He explained that the school system he was transitioning into was somewhat different to what he was accustomed to. He said that he had humble beginnings being at the Central Primary School and then at the Dolphin Secondary School until he and his family migrated.

He recalled his first year being in a new learning environment trying his best to adjust. He said not having his mother and his friends physically with him was a bit difficult, but said that he felt the support of his mother through the constant contact he had shared with her. He said his mother gave him strength and that he wanted to make sure he made her proud.

After several months, he said that he realised that he had to set his goals and set out a plan to achieve them and that’s when he started setting timetables to study and complete work as a way to keep his social life and school life balanced.

“After the first few months I got myself together, I found a few friends and I think that helped my transition better because they made me feel comfortable and welcome. After I got comfortable, I decided that I had to make sure I set my priorities. After working harder and harder, I had gotten selected for my school’s honour roll.”

He stated that he never planned to land a spot on the honour roll but that his hard work surprised even him when it had been announced. He further stated that he had used his time in his high school serving as part of the school’s student society as a way to bring about positive changes for his fellow students.

Davenport, who will be reading for a bachelor’s degree in political science in September, recalled the moment he received that first acceptance letter. He said, “when I got the first letter I was excited, it was a full scholarship to university and I felt proud, I felt like deserved it, all my hard work finally paid off.”

When asked his view on the CSEC examination, which, in the Caribbean, is considered the gateway examination of one’s future, Davenport said that he feels for the children who would view waiting until next year as putting their future on hold for a year, but he feels they should consider their safety. He further stated that he understands that some of the students might find it difficult to focus on preparing themselves for the examination, and that this might affect their overall performance.

Davenport said that if he could offer a piece of advice to students it would be, “ Set your goals and never give up, keep moving forward, keep working harder than you did the day before, don’t let anybody stop you from achieving your goal, if your goal is to go to college or be a lawyer or a doctor, you have to take the responsibility and put in the work to achieve the things you want to, if your believe in yourself there’s nothing you cannot achieve.”

Davenport stated that he is happy for the experiences he had in Guyana as it helped him greatly in achieving his goals, he said he got his work ethics from his schooling and life experiences in Guyana, learning how to rise above adversity and come out on top.