CAMPBELL
Petrina Francis, Education Reporter
The many accomplishments of Winston Campbell, the 2005 Carreras Scholar, demonstrate just how valuable a father's love can be.
The 23-year-old, who hails from the volatile community of Hannah Town in Kingston, has witnessed murders,
robberies and has come in contact with persons affected by incest and molestation. But that did not prevent the young man from achieving his goals.
Mr. Campbell graduated from the University of the West Indies (UWI) with first class honours in visual arts and philosophy and is currently employed as an administrator at the Institute of Caribbean Studies at that institution. In addition, he has recently matriculated at the University of Essex in England, where he will pursue a master's degree in history of arts.
"Growing up in a tenement yard in Hannah Town, we found that it was easy to be led astray. We had guns in our yards; we had the violence in our yard; we had all the issues," he told The Sunday Gleaner.
However, Mr. Campbell said the role that his 43-year-old father Rainford Campbell played in his life was integral in shaping him into who he is today.
"I did get involved but not to a large extent. A lot of it had to do with my father. He played one of the most influential roles. He was a serious disciplinarian; I was still getting beatings at fourth form," he related.
"My friend Johnand I grew up like brothers. He got involved in illegal activities but because of the discipline that my father passed on to me, I think, I was not allowed to explore that."
He continued: "... (but) we didn't see eye to eye on every issue. I had curfew and had to give an account as to why I came home late," he said.
Mr. Campbell said his father was always there for him. As a youngster, his father took him to the movies and other recreational activities, but did not take his three sisters. He noted that his father might have realised that he needed to keep him close to him.
young achiever
The young achiever who is a graduate of Central Branch All-Age and Wolmer's Boys' School said his mother Pauline Grant, with whom he also lives, is uneducated. This he said, forced his father who is a security guard, to take on a proactive role in his life. He recalled the numerous times that his father would take him to the library.
A devout Christian who worships at the Kingston Church of Christ, Mr. Campbell is now giving back, by mentoring young boys in his community.
Mr. Campbell said there were many nights when he went to bed without
dinner. "But we bore it and looked forward to the future," he said with a smile.
Campbell said his father and Joe Pereira, deputy principal of the UWI, are his role models.
name changed.
