7 News Belize

Product of the Southside Wins Open Scholarship
posted (November 3, 2009)

Last night you heard from Athina Swasey the sixth former who topped the CXC results for Belize, earning a “grade one” in 11 subjects. Tonight, we’ll introduce you to 20 year old Stacey Karyn Grinage – she topped the CAPE examinations for Belizean students. CAPE, or the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exam is the test taken by sixth form finishers; it is the Caribbean version of the GCE A-Level. Grinage obtained six grade II’s in Caribbean studies, communication studies, history units 1 and 2, and sociology units 1 and 2.

That did better than any other Belizean and that means she’s won the prized open scholarship. It is the top academic prize offered by the government and grants the single winner a full scholarship to attend any school of their choice to study in any field, anywhere in the world.

And this year that singular honor goes to a child of Belize City’s southside, specifically St. Martin’s de Porres. It’s not to say that Stacey Grinage is defined by where she lives, not at all....but she and her family are proud to declare where they come from because it underscores that she is neither the product of privilege nor the inheritor of a fortune foretold. And they are also keenly aware of the fact that you don’t often hear about open scholarship winners from “Martin’s.” So it was with a sense of well-earned good fortune and genuine happiness that Stacey today told us about the moment of realization.

Stacey Karyn Grinage, Won Belize Open Scholarship
“I got the news yesterday. I was sitting around the dining table at my aunt’s house in Belmopan eating lunch when the 12:30 news came on and I heard the headline and then I said, well let me listen and hear who won the open scholarship. Next thing I hear Stacey Karyn Grinage and I jumped up and I was like that’s my name. So my aunt’s babysitter was in the house and I asked her did you hear my name just to make sure that I wasn’t hearing my own name and she said yes that’s you and I didn’t even hear the rest of the news, all I heard was my name and that’s it and that’s how I got the news and then everyone started to call me, congratulating me, and so I got the news about it.”

Jules Vasquez,
“Now you said you wanted to listen to hear who won it or how the excellent person did. So your waiting to hear it, you didn’t think it was you?”

Stacey Karyn Grinage,
“No I didn’t think it was me. I feel honoured, humbled by this, and now I think that I could explore so many things and dreams can come true and I could be a role model for a lot of people and that is basically it.”

Jules Vasquez,
“So now you have the open scholarship, how are you going to use it, what are you going to do with it?”

Stacey Karyn Grinage,
“Well I haven’t really fully made up my mind but I always dreamt of attending the University of the West Indies but then I am thinking about probably England or some university but I am not really sure.”

Jules Vasquez,
“And so you know what you want to study?”

Stacey Karyn Grinage,
“Yes if I go to the University of the West Indies it will be law and if I go to England it will also be law and I am not sure if I go to any other university….”

Jules Vasquez,
“So you want to be a lawyer?”

Stacey Karyn Grinage,
“Yes when I heard that I won the scholarship I was like I can study law.”

Jules Vasquez,
“You know other people in sixth form who were excelling along with you, who were on the honor role along with you, and I am sure among those you have some brilliant people. Are you surprised that you surpassed them?”

Stacey Karyn Grinage,
“Yes I was surprised but then again I never tell myself that anyone is smarter than me. I always say I can compete with them and I always place myself in their category. I never say anyone is smarter than I am.”

Jules Vasquez,
“Is that important for you, that you stand as a symbol that not everything from Martin’s or Southside is a bad thing and we do have excellence?”

Stacey Karyn Grinage,
“Definitely it is important to me because most of the time, as you said, it is pure negative come out from the southside and I am proud to say I am a proud product of the southside and I did this well so it shows that there is people in the southside who can do it and they just need to work hard and I want to stand as an inspiration to those who think they might can’t do it, that they actually could. You just have to first of all believe in God, have faith in your self, and work hard. You don’t have to be the smartest person to succeed. You have to be the most hardworking person.”

Jules Vasquez,
“You’ll have a child maybe going to St. Luke’s or St. Martin’s or living in your neighborhood or your community who will see you on TV and perhaps be inspired. What would you want to say to that child?”

Stacey Karyn Grinage,
“Well I would want to tell that child that you can do anything, you can achieve anything, and your dreams can come true if you have faith in God, if you believe in yourself and if you work hard and have patience because things might not come your way the way you want it to but eventually it will and that’s when it feels good when it does happen. You don’t get instant gratification but when you do get it, it feels good. So keep the faith and work hard, don’t give up.”

Stacey Grinage is the daughter of Earl and Errolyn Grinage. She says she’ll finish up a year at UB and then activate her scholarship to head out to a foreign university in the fall semester. Besides being this year’s most outstanding CAPE candidate, Stacey Grinage also achieved first place subject award in history unit 2, and sociology unit 1.

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