Top CSEC art student puts St Thomas Technical on the map
Top CSEC art student puts St Thomas Technical on the map . Dante Rose sat four subjects in this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations but was only successful in one, where he emerged as the top student in the Caribbean.  The former St Thomas Technical High School student said...
The Gleaner
Dante Rose sat four subjects in this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations but was only successful in one, where he emerged as the top student in the Caribbean.

The former St Thomas Technical High School student said he was surprised to learn that he had bested all the other students who sat the CSEC visual arts exam and felt fulfilled that his efforts paid off.

“Every timeI think about it, and how hard I worked, I say I should be really, really happy for it,” he said.

Describing himself as a sports lover, the 17-year-old said his severe asthma has relegated him to the sidelines, keeping him from fully participating in any fast-paced action. Thankfully, his art has granted him an avenue to express this love, and he said it served as inspiration for his creations.

“I always have that love for art from first form,” he told The Gleaner. “I like taking trash or anything that is not useful and making into a nice piece to observe and look at and say, ‘Yes, I take trash and turn it into something good’.”

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HARD WORK PAYS OFF

It took him about a month to complete his submission for CSEC, Rose said, and he worked on it after school and on weekends.

This is the first time a student from the St Thomas Technical High School has achieved the distinction of topping the Caribbean for visual arts. His teacher, Hugh Ingram, lauded Rose for “putting the school on the map”.

“He is a hard worker. He has passion, and he takes his time to do his work, and he is prideful about his work ... . It is a good feeling for me but more so for him,” Ingram said.

Rose sat human and social biology, information technology, integrated science, and visual arts, but the self-described “slow learner” was unsuccessful in all of them.

To enhance his chances of academic success, the Friendship Pen resident said he pursued and successfully completed courses in mathematics and English at the City and Guilds level.

Currently, he is at home, unemployed, but has goals of pursuing a painting course at the HEART Trust/NSTA in January next year. He explained that he finds joy in creating things with his hands, much like his mother who designs wreaths and party decorations.

However, ultimately, the elder of two siblings said he also one day hopes to make a name for himself using his art.

“My art will show other people how easy and hard it can be sometimes, but at the end of the day, it pays off,” he said. “I see myself in the next five years making sculptures out of wood, and all those stuff, and acrylic and selling them.”

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com
Jamaica
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2024-11-28
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Dante Rose sat four subjects in this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations but was only successful in one, where he emerged as the top student in the Caribbean.  The former St Thomas Technical High School student said...
Top CSEC art student puts St Thomas Technical on the map