Times of the Islands Summer 2019

Chelsea Stubbs, the British West Indies Collegiate’s
Head Girl, bears an incredible list of academic accomplishments.
She earned the “Top BWIC Student Award
from Year 7 to Year 11” and achieved the coveted place
of “Valedictorian of the Year 11 Class of 2017.” Two
years after achieving ten A*s at IGCSE, she has just completed
her final year of the Advanced Level courses in
Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry and achieved all
As in her AS exams. But her greater success came when
she was lauded as “Top in the World for Cambridge
International AS Level Chemistry,” achieving the highest
mark in the world in her three Chemistry papers. She did
similarly well in Biology (93%) and Mathematics (94%).
Other accolades include being recognized as the
country’s Top Science and Humanities student and Overall
Best Performing Student (shared with Tyrese Saunders)
during the National Academic Awards in January 2019.
During her educational career at BWIC, she has also won
first place in the National Inter-High School Spelling Bee
and first place in the Fortis Science Quiz for three consecutive
years. At the same time, she was a formidable force
on the BWIC softball and volleyball teams, both national
champions.
What does this have to do with sowing? At the same
time as all of this was taking place in 2017, Chelsea’s
father, Bennett Stubbs, suffered two massive strokes.
Single-handedly at their home, Chelsea nursed her father
through his illness and recovery, cared for her grandfather
Stanley Stubbs, and ran the household. She traveled
with her dad on hospital visits to the Dominican Republic
(she is fluent in Spanish and was well able to represent
him), as well as to the US for speech therapy.
I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for a teenager
to contend with so many responsibilities. However,
Chelsea does not dwell on difficulties; instead, she turns
them into learning experiences. She would undertake
extra studies at school after spending the entire night at
the hospital, tending to her father. When he came home,
Chelsea used the Internet to learn about nursing and
stroke rehabilitation. Through it all, she never questioned
having to do the right thing.
Others have sowed into Chelsea’s life, as well, and
are now delighted with her success. Besides her father’s
life-long advice to put her best effort towards everything
she does, Chelsea credits her godparents, Mr. and Mrs.
Warren Forde, with setting her sights high. “They always
lifted me up and encouraged me to do well in school. I
wanted to make them proud and show that their support
was not wasted.”
Chelsea Stubbs excels in science and will be attending Imperial
College in London this September to study medicine.
After her primary education at B.E.S.T. Institute,
Chelsea was offered a full seven-year scholarship by
Graceway IGA to attend BWIC. Her dream had come true
and she joined the Collegiate in Year 7 (Form 1). BWIC
Principal Sylvie Wigglesworth states, “Her academic brilliance
and high degree of self-discipline were impressive
from day one. She never took anything for granted and
continued on her quest for excellence.” Besides being
Chelsea’s principal, Mrs. Wigglesworth has been her
mentor for years. Chelsea says, “Madame has been a very
special part of my life and I will never forget how she went
out of her way to help me countless times. I did not know
there could be so much love in the heart of one person.”
Chelsea adds that she also received a lot of support
from her Biology and Physics teachers at the Collegiate.
“They made a significant contribution to my success.
They always believed in my abilities and were instrumental
in seeding a deep love for the subjects. They were
constantly taking me beyond the confines of the syllabus,
making science fun and rewarding by placing it into the
context of the wider world.”
14 www.timespub.tc