Sujae Boswell is on a Mission

Twenty-year-old Sujae Boswell is grateful to be a 2015 recipient of the Governor-General’s Achievement Award for Excellence.

The accomplished young man, who hails from the volatile community of Norwood, St. James, was recognised for his contribution to the development of his parish and country through his outstanding work in youth leadership and advocacy.

He plans to use the national recognition to intensify his efforts to inspire and motivate other young people to strive for excellence despite their circumstance.

“I plan to use my position of influence to urge youth across Jamaica…to remain focused on their dreams and their goals,” Sujae tells JIS News.

He informs that he has been asked by the administration at his alma mater of Munro College in St. Elizabeth to participate in the 2015/16 orientation programme for students entering the institution in September.

“Growing up in the inner-city community of Norwood, I have been  doing empowering sessions to speak to young people and to help them know that life is not just about you; it’s about giving back to others and about helping. It’s a passion of mine…I have been doing a lot of youth advocacy work and I am actually going to (Munro’s) orientation session to help the first form students to understand what life is about,” he says.

Sujae was among 13 persons from the County of Cornwall, who were presented with the Governor-General Achievement Award for Excellence, during a ceremony at the Sean Lavery Faith Hall in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, on July 23.

Three people from St. James were so recognized, two of whom are students.

Sujae, who is the toast of Norwood, has always been a focused and ambitious young man with a strong sense of purpose.

A Jamaican Youth Ambassador to the Commonwealth, Sujae is a former student of the Albion Primary and Junior High School in Montego Bay, and Munro College.

While at Munro College, Sujae captained the school’s challenge quiz team, was head prefect, president of the school’s and the national student’s council bodies, junior mayor for Black River, Commissioner for the Overseas Examinations Commission and a member of the General Council on Education.

He has collaborated on numerous projects with the Ministry of Youth and Culture and the Ministry of Education, UNESCO, Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), Operations Just for Cause, and also participated in various overseas missions in Finland and Turkey.

Sujae, who is an associate fellow with the Royal Commonwealth Society, is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in international relations at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona. He is also External Affairs Chairman for Chancellor Hall’s at UWI.

The high achiever holds numerous awards for proficiency in languages, speech, cadet, debating and quiz.

Sujae is dedicating the award to the citizens from the community of Norwood, who have always been his strongest and most vocal supporters.

“I must say it is a great honour to be bestowed with the privilege of being selected as a recipient of the Governor-General’s Award. My motivation comes from my community and having been selected from that community is a great feeling and I must thank my community for that,” he says.

In terms of his career goals, Sujae tells JIS News that his profession will definitely “be something in representation.”

“I may become a lawyer, I may become a politician, who knows, but it will definitely be along the representative line,” he says.

Sujae lives in Norwood with his mother, grandmother and four siblings.