Mirrors Grads Honoured At Completion Ceremony
A group of young men were honoured last night [Mar.12] at the Mirrors Completion Ceremony at the Willowbank Resort in Sandy’s. Minister of Youth, Families, Sports and Community Developement Glenn Blakeney spoke at the event, saying, “It is a great day when young men can stand up in the face of everything that is happening in our community and make a choice that puts them in the driver’s seat for a positive future. Young men I want to congratulate you for the commitment you have shown during this nine month programme.”
The participants have been enrolled in a nine month community project since June 2010, working on a regular basis with a life coach on their personal development which included working on three goals they set for themselves in June.
Minister Blakeney’s full statement follows below:
Good evening ladies and gentleman. It is my pleasure to welcome you to tonight’s completion ceremony for the young men of the Mirrors Cohort 6 Delegates Programme.
It is a great day when young men can stand up in the face of everything that is happening in our community and make a choice that puts them in the driver’s seat for a positive future. Young men I want to congratulate you for the commitment you have shown during this nine month programme.
I know that many of you have experienced significant challenges over the course of these 9 months and yet you have remained dedicated to the choice you made to complete this programme. Your Government, the Ministry of Youth, Families, Sports and Community Development, and the Mirrors staff are all extremely proud of you.
No one can take away the accomplishments you have achieved during your time in the Mirrors Programme. However I want to draw your attention to the possibility that after tonight things could get harder for you. There’s a question that I want you to consider tonight and going forward and that question is What Will You Do? What will you do when your life coach is no longer contacting you every week?
Will you continue to work on goals that you have set for yourself or will you give yourself permission to quit. What will you do when there’s no monthly session to remind you of all the possibilities that are available to you? Will you continue to generate yourself to accomplish the things you want or will you sleep your life away.
What will you do if your current level of education is not enough to get you the position you want? Will you shrug your shoulders and say oh well or will you dig in and get the education that you need? What will you do if you suffer financial challenges in this difficult economic period? Will you look within yourself to create possibility or will you turn to the street for answers. Young men I ask you to consider the dreams you have and ask yourself, What will I do?
Each one of you already possesses everything you need within you to be successful in life. The key is going to be remembering that during times when it doesn’t seem like a true statement.
As Minister of Youth, Families, Sports and Community Development, I challenge you to stay true to your new commitments in your life and not to allow yourself to be swayed by any of the challenges that I mentioned earlier.
Your country, your community, and your families need you to accomplish this. I invite you to keep dreaming, keep pushing, and continue to raise the bar for yourself and for your peers. Congratulations again and well done.
