MILLWOOD
THE BEST guest speakers at school functions are those who attended the institution.
At The Queen's School's 51st anniversary prizegiving and awards function, attorney Sharon Millwood, who donned the grey and red years ago, had some uplifting words for the girls. She spoke on the topic 'Maintaining a Climate of Excellence'.
"Achieving excellence and maintaining a climate of excellence means that you can never be content to settle with mediocrity, that is, standards which are ordinary or average," said Ms. Millwood. She reminded the students that this excellence was not only in academics.
She encouraged the young ladies to "separate the hype and the excitement from the things that are real ... the things by which only you can determine what the standard of your life will be. She implored them that in an age where entertainers are encouraging them to find a 'money man', they must instead be independent.
"Strive to be able to stand on your own two feet as best you can so that you will always have the right to reject that which is unacceptable to you," she said.
Ms. Millwood expostulated the value of schooling because of the guidance that students need.
"The sooner you learn to make wise decisions and to maintain that climate of excellence, the stronger the foundation you would have built for the rest of your lives to come," she explained.
She stressed the need for constant improvement and even threw in a few study tips on her speech. Before exiting the podium, she urged the young listeners to give back to their alma mater after graduation. Appropriately, she ended with the school's motto, 'virtute et sapienta floreat' - May she continue to flourish in wisdom and virtue.
