Laurel V Williams
Rio Claro resident Deanna Beepath, 18, has loved and appreciated art and beautiful things since she was a little girl, and her love and appreciation have never wavered.
The creative and imaginative lower six student at Rio Claro West Secondary School was among the top performers in the June 2023 Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations.
The aspiring pharmacist was among this country’s top performers in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency (CAPE) examinations regional merit list. She was awarded the most outstanding performance in Visual Arts 3D.
Beepath said the news truly caught her off guard.
“Since I was a child, I loved creating art and kept doing it. I was really shocked by the announcement. I did not know I would have surpassed so many students. My art teacher Ursilla Orosco-Parris helps and guides me,” she told Newsday on Friday by phone.
Beepath said she was the only one in the family, as far as she knows, who does artwork.
She also secured the 2023 CAPE Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREE) awards for the most outstanding performance in Visual Arts 3D.
Two other CAPE candidates from TT copped the CCREE top awards. They are Malique Auguste, from Naparima College, San Fernando, for the Building and Mechanical Engineering Drawing category, and Danielle Khan, of Holy Faith Convent, Couva, in the Environmental Science Unit 1 category.
Beepath does ceramic sculpting as well as mixed media, which describes artwork using more than one medium or material. The submitted painting showcased the world, and how humans have been abusing the earth.
She also submitted a ceramic piece based on a “leaf woman” to showcase the environment.
A Facebook post on the school’s page on November 23 said: “Our hearts sing out with happiness, pride and prayers of thanks as we announce our students who topped the Caribbean in their various subject areas.”
“We wish to congratulate these students, their families, their community and their teachers especially Mrs Ursilla Orosco-Parris and Mrs Ravita Gangaram both our Art teachers together with Mr Akil Looby our music teacher.”
The school also highlighted the achievements of two other top-performing students, Bindi Bhagaloo, who placed eighth in Music, and Rishon Lakhan, who placed tenth in the same category.
The post added: “A job well done to all involved. It must be noted that Deanna will be going abroad to the CXC Awards to collect her prize in the coming days.”
On November 22 the Education Ministry announced the names of local students who excelled at the June 2023 CXC examinations.
Beepath’s mother, Sharon Beepat, recalled that, like her daughter, other relatives were shocked and excited.
“We were shocked and thrilled as well. I think everyone was excited in the community. People were calling and congratulating her. Deanna has always been drawing and doing something in her room. She has things all over her wall,” the mother of three said.
“For Divali, Deanna did mehendi designs for many people. She recently entered a Divali competition in the school, and on Friday, she collected her first prize.”
