Shell-shocked and speechless were two words used by the mother of one of this year’s President Medal winners, when she was contacted yesterday with the news that her daughter had copped the coveted scholarship award. Soleil Baldeosingh, of St Augustine Girls’ High School (SAGHS) and Sandeep Keshav Maharaj of Presentation College, Chaguanas, have been named as this year’s recipients. Education Minister, Dr Tim Gopeesingh made the announcements at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing, during which he extended congratulations to both winners. He also announced the award of open and national scholarships, adding this year had proved to be a challenging one for the authorities in deciding the recipients as the results were excellent and had surpassed that of previous years.
Baldeosingh lives at Montrose, Chaguanas, while Maharaj is from Arena Road, Freeport. Baldeosingh’s mother, Cherrie Ramnarine, was at a loss for words upon hearing the news. Contacted via her cellphone, Ramnarine said: “I’m shocked. It’s kind of hard. I don’t have words." Revealing that she was contacted first by a neighbour who heard the results being announced, Ramnarine added: “It was totally unexpected. We were expecting her to do well, given her results but we didn’t know about this.” Asked about Baldeosingh and if she had been informed of the results, Ramnarine said the teenager was at work and the family needed a little time to “process everything.” She declined to say much more, except that they needed “to sit and breathe.”
When contacted, principal of the St Augustine Girls’ High School, Joanne Mahadeo, was not as restrained as she expressed her joy with the news that her school had copped a top award, in addition to several more scholarships. Mahadeo received the news from a student while overseeing the graduation practice at the school around 4 pm yesterday. However, she has had no official word from the Ministry of Education and with the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) convention scheduled for today, she is doubtful whether any students will be visiting the school. Asked to describe Baldeosingh, Mahadeo replied: “She really is one of our star students. A hard worker during her entire school career. We are extremely pleased and happy with her performance.” More than 88 students wrote CAPE at St Augustine Girls’ High School but Mahadeo is jubilant as the school has been performing “quite well in the past few years.”
