St. Mary’s former pupil continues to inspire change

14 Oct 2024

We feel very inspired by our former pupil and former Edmund Rice Youth Ambassador Davina, who has been on a whirlwind of experiences with Edmund Rice since successfully achieving her A Levels at St. Mary’s last year.

Davina has just completed her internship in St. Lucia and has given us a snapshot of her time there:

“This summer saw one of my dreams come true! I had the opportunity to go to the ‘Helen’ of the West Indies, St Lucia -as part of the Caribbean Elective’s ‘Politics in the Community’ internship programme. My month in St Lucia was full of discovery, inspiration, education, being an active global citizen and fun in the sun! Here, I became a part of the St Lucian social and political tapestry, engaging with St Lucian life to delve deeper into what it means to be a true St Lucian. During this experience, I had the chance to meet and hear from the trailblazers, leaders and pioneers of change (such as Irvin ‘Ace’ Loctar, Dr Adrian Augier and former Prime Minister Allen Chastanet, to name a few) in St Lucian society who shared their personal experiences, expressed their deepest concerns about St Lucia as well as their hopes for a brighter future for the youth.

During my internship with Caribbean Elective, we were called upon to create a Green Paper on our chosen topics, policy changes and how we would implement our strategies. I decided to focus on the revival of Cultural and Creative Industries in St Lucia as I recognised the immense and long-lasting positive impacts The Arts and Creativity have on community development as well as the daily features we see around us. This research allowed me to be more independent and grew my initiative as I was compelled to reach out to current changemakers and leading names in this industry.

This experience inevitably called for passion, innovation and relatability. Hence it was an amazing opportunity to put theory into practice and be a part of furthering potential change in St Lucia. Thus, helping us build the skills vital for the careers we seek to become a part of.

In addition, I got to meet new faces from my university and universities across the UK. This was such an excellent opportunity to network and learn from each other’s experiences. Alongside professionalism was fun and enjoyment! St Lucia had plenty to offer from climbing the Pitons, to watching T20 Cricket, attending the weekly Friday Gros Islet Street Parties, having beautiful beach days and so much more!

St Lucia inspired me every step of the way: this was a surreal experience that I will cherish and take forward not just in my career, but for the rest of my life!”

Davina was an excellent ERI Ambassador during her time at St. Mary’s and we are thrilled to see her work and passion for change continue.

We are proud to be part of the Edmund Rice Schools community and our vision is to be an exemplar Edmund Rice School.

The values of the school are articulated through the motto of the school badge i.e. ‘we show our faith by the way we live, love and learn’.

This is underpinned by the values of an Edmund Rice education:

• Building a Christian community by promoting spiritual development and sharing the gospel message
• Striving for excellence in all that we do
• Developing the Whole Person for life and beyond
• Showing compassion for those in need, educating for justice
• Valuing, developing and enabling staff to grow themselves and to share our message

Our aims, which embody the eight essentials of an Edmund Rice “education for the whole of our life, here and hereafter”, 

Find out more about Edmund Rice England or the Summer Camp opportunities available.