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Morgan Challenges Graduates to Be Positive Role Models

By: , July 6, 2022
Morgan Challenges Graduates to Be Positive Role Models
Photo: Nickieta Sterling.
Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Information, Hon. Robert Nesta Morgan, addresses graduates at the Lacovia High School Valedictory Service in St. Elizabeth on Tuesday (July 5).
Morgan Challenges Graduates to Be Positive Role Models
Photo: Nickieta Sterling.
The 2022 graduating class of the Lacovia High School in St. Elizabeth during the institution’s Valedictory Service on Tuesday (July 5).

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Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Information, Hon. Robert Nesta Morgan, says that the current generation of students possess the capacity to bring about momentous change to the Jamaican society.

Giving the keynote address at the Lacovia High School’s Valedictory Service in St. Elizabeth on Tuesday, (July 5), Mr. Morgan noted that students should use technological innovations and myriad other resources available to them, to contribute positively to Jamaica’s development.

“Before us is actually the greatest generation Jamaica has ever seen. My parents didn’t have the tools that they have. I never had the tools that they have… but the question I ask is, if it is that the previous generation could have achieved so much with so little, can you imagine the potential of the current generation to change Jamaica? If it is that we used to use slate and we… [had] nothing to go home and study and we used to still pass our exams, can you imagine the generation that has access to google,” he stated.
Minister Morgan encouraged the graduating class to push to give their parents/guardians a return on the investment they have made in their education, by striving for excellence in all pursuits.

“The fact that you have the opportunity to sit here today, means that a large number of people have sacrificed a large number of things… to cause you to be here. So, if you come here benefiting from the hard work of your parents but then you don’t give back the returns, you are taking their money and their effort under false pretense,” he said.

Having played a snippet of a popular dancehall song, the Minister urged students not to be influenced by the negative elements and the “glitter and glamour” of society, including music that glorifies violent lifestyles.

“Are you prepared to function in a positive way in society or are you prepared to associate with the negative paths of the society. So, when I play the song ‘Miss Jen ask if we a still thief’, I wanted to hear how you would react to it. Fundamentally, there is nothing wrong with dancehall… . I listen to dancehall, but there is something wrong with the glorification of negative stereotypes and negative activities that are undermining the progress of the society,” Mr. Morgan underscored.

The Minister also implored students to aspire to become positive leaders and role models in order to make a transformative difference in their communities.

“Every single thing that you become in the future is dependent on every single thing that you try to become,” he shared.

“Are you going to be an example to people in your community as leaders, so that when they look up to you, they do not see Miss Jen grandson, but they see somebody who has gone to school, who has progressed properly through society and who is making a positive difference in the community,” he implored.

Meanwhile, Board Chairman, Lola Marshall-Williams encouraged the batch of 122 graduates to continue to soar to higher academic heights.

Last Updated: July 8, 2022

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