Quite often we do not hear foreigners saying they are thankful for the opportunities offered by Guyana but for 16 year old Carlos Eduardo Ricci he will forever remain grateful for the opportunities he was afforded in Guyana.
Carlos was born in Brazil to a Guyanese mother and Brazilian father. He spent the first five years of his life in Brazil and after his parents separated, he moved to Guyana with his mother. They made St Ignatius Village, Region 9 (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) their home and since then he has been trying to integrate.
“When I moved here it was kind of difficult because coming from Brazil. It was a whole different country and they spoke a different language. I learnt English and fell in love with the language and I am now fluent in both. I try to do my best to show how grateful I am to this country and all I was able to do here. I am really thankful to Guyana,” he said.
He recently completed gained 14 passes at the CSEC examinations and was awarded the top performer spot in his Region. He gained Grade One passes in Human and Social Biology, Physical Education and Sport; Grade Two in Agricultural Science, Biology, Caribbean History, English A, Geography, Industrial Technology, Information Technology, Integrated Science, Mathematics, Physics, Social Studies; and a grade Three in Chemistry.
The St Ignatius Secondary student said that growing up in his village was a fun experience. He speaks about the level of comradery among the villagers and the generous nature of the residents. He said throughout his school life he was always curious about learning and it excited him to venture into different topics. However, he notes that during Secondary School a lot of his classmates were disinterested in their school work and it made focusing in class somewhat difficult due to the constant interruptions.
When it came to CSEC, Carlos was determined to write as much subjects as possible because he felt that he had the capacity to do so. However, many persons were aimed at discouraging him since they felt that he would not be able to withstand the pressure.
“I believed in myself and wrote those subjects and I passed all of them. I did not get the grades I want but I still did very good.”
In terms of preparing for examinations, Carlos said that he understood the importance of CSEC but said that he could not devote all his time to studying. He participated in revision at school but that was as far as his studying went .
“I came home and I never picked up the book. I knew what I needed to. I thought it was useless for me because I knew it. I knew it (CSEC) was important but not to the point where I had to wake up late in the night or early in the morning and hurt up meh head. I knew that I came five years in school, I learned and I was ready. There was no need for me to be hurrying to get a book,” Carlos said.
Carlos is now gearing up to move to Georgetown to begin his studies at the Georgetown Technical Institute as he begins pursuing his dream career in the ICT field. He hopes to become a programmer in the near future since computers fascinates him. (Times Sunday Magazine)
