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Do The Right Thing has become the flagship program for the Police Department’s Community Policing Unit. Each month, high school students from each district are singled out for doing the right thing even when the wrong thing, or nothing would have been easier to do. And from the monthly winners, national champions are chosen annually. 2009’s champions were awarded this morning and 7News was there.

Keith Swift Reporting,
The top student was 36 year old Jesucita Castellanos. You heard right, she is 36 and graduated from high school in Benque this year after dropping out for family reasons 20 long years ago.

Jesucita Castellanos, 1st Place – Do the Right Thing
“In 1988 I was in second form in Mopan Technical High School when my mom left my dad and I had to go and take care of my brothers and sisters, raise them up so that they can be somebody productive. Now they are all grown up and they are the ones who are pushing me to continue with my education.”

Keith Swift,
“So you started back school what year?”

Jesucita Castellanos,
“2006 I started Mount Carmel High to finish third and fourth. I just graduated the 30th of May.”

Keith Swift,
“How old are you?”

Jesucita Castellanos,
“I’m 36.”

Keith Swift,
“I am tempted to ask you what do you want to be when you grow up.”

Jesucita Castellanos,
“I want to major in primary education, teach especially help children who don’t have the opportunity to go to school.”

Jerry Ramirez was the second best. He is 19 and from Eden Seventh Day Adventist High School in Santa Elena.

Jerry Ramirez, 2nd Place
“Over the past few years I have been volunteering with NEMO and other organizations in Cayo. I have been helping around in the community. I attend leadership camps and I have been helping a lot around my community lately. I just like to do, it is something that I enjoy. I like exploring, I like helping other people, and I like doing new stuff. It is just something I like.”

The other national awardees were Yesenia Mejia from Independence High School, and Keirah McLaughin from Orange Walk Technical High School. There was no recipient from Belize City or even the Belize District. Commander of Community Policing Assistant Superintendent Bart Jones says they reached out to schools but the schools didn’t reach back.

ASP Bart Sanchez, Commander – Community Policing
“We had made several efforts to reach out to the high schools in Belize City and still at the end of the month to go and get the submissions, they don’t have it so we are looking at this school year coming to see how we could strategize to reach out to the Belize City schools again to get some of the nominees.”

The students chosen today were selected from a pool of do the right thing winners from across the country.

ASP Bart Sanchez,
“They need to be good in terms of their academic achievements. Their behaviour must be of the best etc. and from those, the story behind the person is what the committee looks at and then makes a selection and that is what you see today, the five best persons that were submitted in the view of the committee that were awarded today.

It also aims to highlight those young people as well in a positive way and as a well it gives that opportunity to certain young persons to further their education as well.”

Keith Swift,
“What would you want others to learn from you?”

Jesucita Castellanos,
“That it is never late to study, it is never late to study. They can do it the same way I did it. They can try to pursue what they want. Everything is possible in this world once you got life.”

Keith Swift,
“And you’re proof of that.”

Jesucita Castellanos,
“Yap.”

The 5th recipient was Mark Anderson from Sacred Heart High School in San Ignacio. He won $1,000 towards his tuition from Atlantic Bank. Jesucita Castellanos, the 36 year old who graduated from Mount Carmel High School in Benque, won a laptop, a printer, and a scholarship. Jerry Ramirez from Eden Seventh Day Adventist School won a sixth form scholarship from BNE while Yesenia Mejia from Independence High School received $3,500 towards her sixth form education. Keirah Mclaughlin won a scholarship to Saint John’s College Junior College.

This morning’s ceremony was also an opportunity for the Community Policing Unit to thank its sponsors who received plaques as tokens of the department’s appreciation.