Former student of Anna Regina Multilateral School, Dr. Kurt Clarke, has honoured one of the country’s top CSEC students, Daniel Dowding with a monetary gift.

Dr Clarke, who graduated from the Anna Regina Secondary School, joined the list of individuals who provided cash donations to Dowding. Dr. Clarke said he has had a keen interest in education and has consistently supported families on the Essequibo Coast for over thirty years. One of the significant education initiatives undertaken over these years was the establishment of a scholarship fund at the 8th of May Secondary School since 1988, through which he has given financial assistance and purchased school supplies to young people in his community each year to motivate them to reach the stars.

Dr. Clarke said he was immensely impressed with Dowding’s performance and hopes that his honouring of the young man would motivate young people to pursue excellence and ignite a sense of commitment by responsible adults to invest in the academic development of our youths. Dr Clarke’s nephew, Pastor Exton Clarke, President of the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, made the donation on behalf of his uncle to Dowding recently.

Meanwhile, Dowding has affirmed that his faith in God was the driving and determining factor in his success. But he also praised his parents, teachers and church family for also playing crucial roles in his achievements.

Dowding- a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and student of the Anna Regina Multilateral School, secured 25 subjects at the CSEC examinations, achieving 22 grade ones and three grade twos. In an interview-Dowding was asked what role did his faith in God play in his success, to which he responded: “Faith was the driving and determination factor for me and my success…It was God that kept me and faith that allowed me to press forward. The prayers of my mom and church family and well-wishers also held me together during that time,” the young man related.

In previous media interviews, Dowding had hailed the support he received from his family, friends, church and community, which he said also helped to keep him pushing through the many sleepless nights, self-doubt and the pain of grief during the preparation for his examinations.

Asked what was his greatest motivation as he prepared for his exams, Dowding related that there were many, but noted that, “The greatest for me would be to be successful and to make all those who would have placed their faith and hope in me proud. Throughout the years, people would wish me well and give words of support and encouragement so, my success is dedicated to all who would have positively influenced me.”

An aspiring marine biologist, Dowding spoke about his study habits, noting that he implemented creative methods to maximise learning. “My study habit was one that ensured that I was enjoying the studying period and was having fun while doing so – whether it included me changing my voice and accent to relate to a particular history topic in a Caribbean country; impersonating the actions of careers in the agricultural or science fields or even to pacing up and down my home to ensure that I was truly absorbing the content I was reading,” the young man said. He added: “Mainly, my studies would start around 9 pm and until 11:30 pm. I would wake up at 3:30 a.m. and continue until 6:30 am. Studying in vehicles was very rare. I would have headaches when a did such. Apart from studying, co-curricular activities were a must whenever they presented themselves.”

Parental support
On the issue of parental support, Dowding said this was extremely important. “My parents are my first teachers, so they have always been there for me. They would have encouraged me and were there in all that I decided to pursue especially my mom. I don’t know how she does it, but she inspires me. They were prepared to go pay for the many subjects I wrote, which would have amounted to a little over $200 000. But thank God CSEC took off some of the fees due to the ramifications of the pandemic on the education sector and so I only had to pay one-third of the price. Additionally, I count it as a blessing that my mom had retired a good time before my exams when I was attending lessons, so she was there to take me home late at nights.”

Weeks before his first examination, Dowding’s grandfather passed away- a loss which took a toll on him. He had told reporters that despite his sadness, he kept his focus, which he admitted was not an easy task.

For his success, Dowding has received many accolades and the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventist recently honoured him. At the celebration, Pastor Clarke,  highlighted the significance of modeling excellence, especially in academia. He expressed pride and commendations to Dowding on behalf of the 65,000 plus members of the local church scattered across the 10 administrative regions of Guyana.  Dowding has spoken previously about his passion for working with animals and hopes to secure a scholarship, which will afford him the opportunity to pursue a tertiary education, and secure his dream job as a marine biologist.