Garvey Maceo taught me resilience – Nesta Morgan

Reminiscing on his time in high school, de facto information minister Robert Nesta Morgan is crediting Garvey Maceo High School in Clarendon for the resilience which is now ingrained in him.

In 1993 Morgan passed the Common Entrance Examinations and was placed at the Vernamfield-based institution. He told THE WEEKEND STAR that the first day at school is still clear in his mind, as the nerves of being at a new place gripped him.

"I had passed Common Entrance and all of my friends got through for Glenmuir and Clarendon College but I had passed for Garvey Maceo which was a strange thing because I was basically all the way in Vernamfield, very far from everything," he recalled. "I had no friends and it was a very strange environment in the middle of some cane piece. It was a good school in terms of how it looked and all of that but it was very strange for me."

Morgan said his time at Garvey Maceo was very difficult and the added pressure of not being financially well-off made the experience harder.

"We never really grew up with much so I remember my father took me to Manchester and bought what they called at the time 'Clarendon Clarks', which was a kind of shoes. We couldn't really afford more than that. And I remember I was told the shoes had to last me for the entire year because we can't afford to buy anymore. So that was my biggest memory transitioning from primary to high school."

The Clarendon North Central MP recalled times when had to walk to May Pen because there were no buses available. On one occasion he even had to walk through flood water.

"I remember once the rain fell and the place flooded and the water reached up to our waist. We had to hold each other's hands to cross the waters in that area."

Despite the challenges, Morgan said that he owes his teachers for protecting him as well as teaching him the resilience needed to survive.

"One of the things I learned at Garvey Maceo is resilience, and what resilience means is your ability to survive difficult and challenging circumstances. It was not the easiest environment. It was very challenging in terms of discipline of the students. But I think the teachers really tried and I have to give credit to Garvey Maceo, as hard as it was for me, what you would call a poor student, to make it there. I have to give credit to the teachers for giving me the foundation and protecting me. It wasn't easy to really come through," he said.

As the new school year begins on Monday, Morgan said that students facing similar struggles should find the strength to focus.

"For young people going into a new environment, talk to your teachers, work with your teachers. You are gonna find one or two teachers who are going to hold your hand right and you have to be focused. You have to always be focused, no matter what the challenges are."