Strong foundations at 189 Old Hope Road

ON A recent visit to a physician’s office in Kingston, I grew impatient waiting for the doctor to arrive for a 2:30 p.m. appointment and began to thumb through a 1996 issue of an old Who’s Who in Jamaican Business and Politics publication. My first thought as I flipped through the Bible-thick book was, “Wow, this would have been so much better if we had photos for everyone listed here,” but as a rifled though the pages, I began to notice an interesting trend: You couldn’t go two pages without seeing the words “attended Jamaica

College (JC)” somewhere in the short bios. I became fascinated with this fact as I thought: “Finally, a quantitative method to once and for all answer the question of which school is the best in Jamaica, based on the quality of their graduates.”

I have not felt such a sense of discovery, utter pride and awe since I first entered the gates of JC as a firstformer in September 1986 and saw the war memorial on the St Dunstan’s Chapel commemorating the memory of the 17 JC old boys who sacrificed their lives during the Great War. The list of outstanding old boys of the 229-year-old institution is startling: a national hero, a couple of prime ministers, countless judges, lawyers, doctors, academics, artists, and giants of commerce and industry. JC truly boasts an enviable record of outstanding Jamaican men who are deeply woven into the national fabric.

But the power and impacting glory of JC is much more than its graduates. Something magical and mysterious happens between those five to seven years at JC that produces men of legendary acumen, charm, leadership and, most notably, devotion to the school that built them. As great as their accomplishments are, they will tell you that those strong foundations at 189 Old Hope Road paved the way for a lifetime of achievement and excellence in their chosen fields. They will also tell you, too, that those years have imbued in them a pervading spirit of loyalty and camaraderie to their present and future old boys family, compelling them to look after the legacy while safeguarding the future of JC through service to our noble college.

SPIRIT OF THE AWARD

Perhaps no one embodied this more than our very own Dr the Hon Selwyn Carlton Alexander, whose generosity, devotion and loyalty to JC was clear for all to see even against the glaring light of his numerous national awards and accomplishments. For this reason, JC old boys who embody the spirit and essence of what Carlton Alexander represents to us are honoured with the Carlton Alexander Award annually as a formal recognition and thank you for their invaluable service to Jamaica and their unswerving devotion to JC. This year’s awardees are Dr Clive Lai and attorney-at-law Stephen Shelton.

Dr Lai is an obstetriciangynaecologist with a strong record of service at the University Hospital of the West Indies, the Victoria Jubilee Hospital and the Mandeville Regional Hospital. He has given years of service and charity to JC as an educator and mentor to the boys and has provided material support to various projects at JC.

Stephen Shelton, QC, has served the legal profession in the high courts of Jamaica, Belize and the United Kingdom, as well as the Court of Appeal in Jamaica and the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. He also served as chairman of the Council of Voluntary Social Services and on the school board of JC for 20 years.

Both men are the living embodiment of the service and dedication to JC that the Carlton Alexander Awards represent, and I congratulate, thank and honour these newest members of our most illustrious fraternity for all that they have done for JC. Floreat collegium, fervet opus in campis – May the college flourish, work is burning in the fields.

MAJOR BASIL JARRETT President, Jamaica College Old Boys’ Association

Both Stephen Shelton and Dr Clive Lai are the living embodiment of the service and dedication to JC that the Carlton Alexander Awards represent, and I congratulate, thank and honour these newest members of our most illustrious fraternity for all that they have done for JC.