Second SVN student gets prestigious Canadian scholarship

Jun 17, 2020 News

– eyes career in medical field

In 2016, Narindra Persaud was one of the best graduating Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) students of the Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) School and ever since, he has been excelling.

Narindra Persaud continues to make the SVN school proud

As testimony to his continued excellence, Persaud was recently awarded the Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship to pursue studies in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. This is according to a press release issued by the school, which noted that “the Principal, Faculty and students of SVN have joined in congratulating and wishing Narindra Persaud continued success as he embarks on a journey to pursue a career as a general surgeon.”
According to the Times Higher Education World University rankings, University of Toronto is the 18th among the world’s top 100 universities.
This annual scholarship, named after a former Canadian Prime Minister, recognises international students who demonstrate academic excellence with a drive to leading the improvement of their communities. While thousands of students worldwide apply for this elite scholarship, Persaud is one of 38 students actually selected for the 2020 cohort. He succeeds Vamanadev Hiralall, who was granted the scholarship in 2018. It is worth acknowledging that Hiralall and Persaud, both of SVN, are the only students from Guyana to ever be awarded this prestigious scholarship.
Persaud hails from a humble background in the village of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo. Although Persaud was displeased with his performance at the NGSA, having secured a place at the Zeeburg Secondary, he was able to attend SVN and was one of the most outstanding performers at CSEC in 2016 attaining 20 subjects with 14 grade one passes.
He attributed his success to the dedication to excellence and discipline espoused by SVN together with the support of his teachers and family. After a one-year break from studies, Persaud returned to SVN to pursue studies at CAPE. Despite difficulties transitioning to full-time studies again, he was SVN’s best graduating student at CAPE in 2019 with passes in 14 units.
According to several of his teachers, Persaud has been an exemplary student of SVN evident by his competitive nature and devotion to producing excellent work. He has always strived to improve himself and this allowed for his outstanding academic achievements, the SVN statement said, adding that, “his enthusiasm extends to his current work as a Chemistry teacher at the school.”
Having grown up in a large impoverished neighbourhood where much importance is not given to education, Persaud has a passion for helping to alleviate these problems through his volunteer work. “Persaud also exemplifies the school’s philosophy of giving back to one’s community. He has also been involved in teaching science subjects to children at local orphanages and single-handedly organised SVN’s blood drive in October 2019.”
For further information, visit the University of Toronto Website: https://future.utoronto.ca/pearson/2020-scholars

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