14-y-o MoBay High student is Junior Tourism Minister

Montego Bay High School for Girls’ Thaejadore Kerr has been named Jamaica’s Junior Minister of Tourism after emerging victorious in the finals of the Minister of Tourism Public Speaking Competition.

The 14-year-old topped a field that included Manning’s School’s Govaunia James, who finished second, and Glenmuir High School’s Nathan Clarke, who placed third. The finals were held at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort in Ocho Rios, St Ann last Friday.

Kerr will now represent Jamaica at the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO’s) regional finals in Guyana later this year.

“This was a very great experience,” Kerr told The Gleaner after her victory. “Just the opportunity in general, and the fact that these persons from many different schools entered the competition, it presented an opportunity for students to learn about tourism and gather knowledge and so forth, and propose ideas and innovations to better the tourism sector.”

She said she was looking forward to the regional finals.

“I’m looking forward to it, it will be my first time journeying to another Caribbean country. I’m excited to share my ideas and everything that I want in terms of presenting and just the opportunity,” she said.

Faithlyn Anderson, one of two Tourism Action Club advisers at Montego Bay High School, credited Kerr’s success to her grasp of the subject matter and expressed delight at the result.

“Thaejadore has always had a gift for connecting with an audience, but what set her apart this year was how deeply she understood the material behind her presentations. She did not just memorise talking points, she asked questions, did her own research, and made the subject matter her own,” Anderson said.

VERY REWARDING

“Watching her grow from round one to a champion has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career as an educator,” she added.

Kerr will be seeking to better Jamaica’s strongest performance in the regional competition. Last year, Hampton School’s Caleader Lewison finished second.

Manning’s School has dominated the competition in recent years, winning three of the past four stagings. Despite another strong showing, however, James had to settle for the runner-up spot.

“The experience was great, honestly,” James told The Gleaner. “I enjoyed the fact that I was able to share my ideas among peers and that I was exposed to the tourism industry and the versatility of it all. I really did enjoy this competition and what it has taught me, and the improvement in my public speaking as well.”

Shalia Lewis, an English language teacher at Manning’s School and staff adviser for the Tourism Action Club, all but pledged that the school would reclaim the title next year. She noted that her practice of allowing students to “find their own voice” had contributed to the school’s success over the years.

Clarke, who topped the first round of the competition, also delivered a strong performance but was outscored by the two young women.

“It was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I took a step of faith and I represented Glenmuir to the best of my ability,” he said.

Lucretia Green, of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), manager of the Tourism Information Centre with responsibility for Tourism Action Clubs in schools and chief judge of the competition, hailed another successful staging.

“It was good,” she said in response to questions from The Gleaner. “Round one, we had 14 competitors and we did a top three. The competition was stiff from then for us judges because, as someone who is the head judge, I’m seeing the improvement in the quality of the preparedness and the quality of the content and the quality of how they interrogate the questions.”

Green said she is looking forward to Jamaica performing well at the regional finals, which will be held in Guyana from October 5 to 9 during the State of the Tourism Industry Conference.

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com