When petite and shy Dianna Sophia Lopez walked into the Chaguanas North Secondary School (CNSS) in 2014 to pursue her A-levels, she was faced with a culture shock.
Having studied in a non-disruptive and nurturing environment at the San Juan South Secondary School for five years, Lopez, 18, never expected she would have encountered indiscipline and unruly and disrespectful behaviour by students during her two-year stay at CNSS.
In February, while Lopez was studying for Unit Two of her Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination, the school grabbed headline news when police were alerted to a planned gun attack by students.
This led to 24 students, who had behavioural issues, being removed and sent to the old Couva West Secondary School, where a programme was conducted by the Student Support Services Division to rehabilitate them. A number of the students were also identified as having criminal records, with many of them having pending matters before the courts.
Lopez, of Enterprise, said the incident's negativity pained her to no end. However on Wednesday, the bad image the school had attained in the last four months was overshadowed by two success stories–Lopez captured second place in the Lucille S Antoine Leadership Scholarship, while the school was credited for placing second in the RBC's Judges Award for outstanding service to the community.
These two achievements were celebrated at the school by students and teachers with much fanfare. Following the awards, the school's acting vice-principal, Rajandaye Thanoo, said teachers and administrative staff have seen an improvement in the behaviour of students since the incident.
"These awards are testimonies that good and positive things can come of our school," Thanoo said. The financial scholarship was established by Dr Gerard Antoine, who is the founder and medical director of the Caribbean Medical Providers Practicing Abroad.
Addressing students, Antoine, a Trinidadian, who travelled from Hawaii to present Lopez with her award, told the students that with hard work come great rewards.
He urged the students to follow in Lopez's footsteps because of her academic accomplishments and mentoring and leadership skills. After collecting her US$500 prize, Lopez said she never expected to win.
"I took a gamble by writing an essay about myself and my leadership qualities. I was surprised when I found out that I was the recipient of a financial scholarship," she said.
She admitted that the environment, attitudes and behaviour of students at the school were totally different to where she studied before. "I really enjoyed going to school at San Juan South Secondary. The students were ambitious and had self-respect. Here was quite different." One of the eye-openers for Lopez was students having low morale.
"There was also disrespect to the highest degree. It was disrespect to the principal and teachers. I was not accustomed to this so it was really a culture shock for me. We are trying to change this in the school."
Since joining the school, Lopez has served as student representative on the local school board, chairman and vice president of the school's student council, and as a prefect in Lower Six and Upper Six.
She was also a member of the school's Environmental Club and the Sixth Form Association Services, who mentored Form One students.
Lopez said she planned to spend the US$500 on her mother Sita Lopez, who has to undergo a series of blood tests, since her health was not the best.
ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP
The Lucille S Antoine Leadership Scholarship encourages secondary school students to develop and their leadership abilities through practical experience, personal reflection and community involvement with mentors and peers. The scholarship, which is in its sixth year, serves as a vehicle to advance higher education to secondary school students between ages 11 to 18 in T&T.
