Horace Fisher, Gleaner Writer

MAY PEN, Clarendon:

ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD CHAVEZ Campbell is a boy on a mission.

The grade-six student who attends Effortville Primary School in May Pen, Clarendon, has a burning desire to become a lawyer.

Already, the youngster is on his way to achieving his big dreams. He is being mentored by prominent Clarendon-based attorney George Clue, who is teaching the aspiring legal luminary a thing or two about the profession.

"Every week, I go to Mr Clue's office in May Pen and he lets me observe how he deals with his clients. So already I have an idea of the kind of cases that an attorney has to deal with, and how they are resolved," said a soft-spoken Chavez.

As he dreams about his future, the bright spark is taking pragmatic steps towards realising those dreams, and has two major academic tests on the horizon. His first will be to ace the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) next March, followed by the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations two months after.

"I want to go to Glenmuir High School next September, so I have to do well in GSAT next year. After I finish GSAT, I want to take some subjects in the CSEC exams also," declared Chavez, who informed The Gleaner that he has already signed up for Mr Pinnock's CSEC classes in May Pen.

Campbell's teachers at Effortville firmly believe that he has the ability to do well in both exams.

"Of course, he has the capabilities to do it, and he will, because he is a very focused, settled child who knows what he wants. Chavez has been reading at the grade-seven level from grade four. In grade five, he placed first in his class with a 92.2 grade average," said Gloria Myles, who taught Chavez in grade five.

Suzannie Scarlett, who is charged with the responsibility to prepare Chavez and his grade six peers for the GSAT, said he is already displaying the right attributes that will make him successful academically and otherwise.

rural@gleanerjm.com