Barbadian Student Captures District Essay Contest

Seventeen year old Barbadian, Deshon Griffith is the  2012 winner of the Optimist International Caribbean District Essay Contest.  Sponsored by the Optimist Club of Bridgetown Barbados from Zone 12, Deshon is  the first entrant from Barbados to capture the top spot. He beat Arielle Brown (Optimist Club of Barbican Pines) and Grace-Ann Samuels (Optimist Club of Kensington) into second and third places respectively and in the process received a scholarship valued at US$2,500 from Optimist International, a cash award of US$200 from the Caribbean District, and a district plaque. In addition, the essay will be sent to the international level to be judged along with winners from other Optimist districts.  One international winner will be chosen and will receive an engraved plaque and recognition in The Optimist magazine. 

Writing on the topic: How my positive outlook benefits my community, the entrants representing 11 of the 13 zones in the District gave the judges a difficult task in choosing a winner given the excellence of the essays.  According to Chief Judge, Patricia Donald, "It was a keenly contested competition with one limitation; there could only be one winner".

Young Griffith, who missed the presentation ceremony held on May 5 at the District Secretariat in Kingston, Jamaica, due to CAPE examinations, expressed his own delight at winning the competition.  He also expressed gratitude to the Optimist movement for opening yet another window of opportunity to pursue a tertiary education. In his essay, Deshon treated the term community as an embrace of geographical location, school, church, and communities of interest. He cited his own challenges and how his positive  approach impacted others around him, highlighting his God-given singing talent asa blessing to the various communities of which he is a part.

Optimists conduct positive service projects that reach more than six million young people around the world. According to the Optimist International website, the essay contest is designed to "give young people the opportunity to write about their own opinions regarding the world in which they live" and is one of several platforms supported by the movement aimed at "bringing out the best in kids".  

There are 61 clubs and over 1700 Optimists spread across the Caribbean District. To learn more about the Caribbean District you may visit: http://www.facebook.com/OptimistInternationalCaribbeanDistrict 

or the Optimist International website at:  http://www.optimist.org/