Eric overcame some serious adversities to make a turnaround after he came to St. George's College in 3rd form. Now a 3rd year student in medical school. his story is inspirational.............
JPS Foundation To Groom Top Scholar
Published: Friday | November 8, 20130 Comments
THE JPS Foundation kicked off its observation of National Youth Month last week Friday by inducting JPS Scholar, Eric Salkey, into the JPS Foundation Leadership Academy. The programme is aimed at identifying youth leaders and grooming them for positions of higher leadership within society.
The announcement was made by president, CEO of JPS, and member of the board of directors for the JPS Foundation, Kelly Tomblin, during Salkey's special courtesy call on her that evening.
During the visit, Salkey - also, the winner of the 2013 Governor General's Award for Youth Leadership - engaged the JPS principal in lively rapport about a range of topics, including the state of childcare and nutrition in Jamaica, which is a passion of Tomblin's, and one of the core focus areas of the Foundation.
"We are so impressed by you and how you have overcome your past to become such an inspiration today," Tomblin told Salkey, referencing his childhood and adolescent years, which were marked by less than ideal events. "We have watched you blossom over the years and we are truly proud of you."
Salkey, a third-year medical student at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, received a scholarship from JPS Foundation to study a double major in Pure and Applied Chemistry in 2007. His excellent results - he missed a first-class honours degree by just 0.06 points - guaranteed him a continuation of the scholarship to pursue studies in medicine, which started in 2010.
But it hasn't always been smooth sailing for this future general surgeon who is at present being trained in children's health. He grew up in an abusive home, relocated several times as a child, and even got into trouble with the law while a student at Vauxhall High School. An uncle's intervention in third form led to his placement at St George's College, and fuelled a turnaround highlighted by a stream of academic distinctions which continues to date as he boasts a 3.48 GPA.
The Gleaner
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