TWENTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD Keon West is the classic example of a well-rounded individual. He is this year’s recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship and, will next September, begin his studies at Oxford University, England, where he will pursue a master’s degree in experimental psychology.

It has been well over a month since West received the prestigious award at the Governor-General’s residence on the lawns of King’s House, but the feeling of euphoria is still very much with him.

He laughed easily as he recalled the moment his name was announced by Governor General and chair of the Selection Committee, Sir Howard Cooke, in mid-November.

“My mother was more excited than I was, at first,” West recalled. “She was screaming and running up and down the house calling all our relatives, (while) family members from Trinidad and England were calling us (as well).”

But the feeling of joy really began to set in for West after he saw the article about his success in local newspapers, which was followed by a flood of interview requests from various media houses.

Born in Trinidad to parents Wayne and Doreen Brady-West, the former Campionite – now a final year psychology and French student at Macalester College in the United States – described himself as being scientifically-inclined.

Both of his parents are in the medical profession; his father is a radiologist and his mother, a haematologist. He has two sisters Kamille, who is a doctor, and Kacy-Ann is a student at Macalester College.

Academic awards are not novel to the West family. And therefore it came as no surprise that Keon displayed high levels of intelligence, even in his early years, winning the O’Gilvie trophy as ‘Boy of the Year’ at St Peter and Paul Preparatory School.

“It was an all-around kind of trophy, awarded to those who were very good at academics and sociable in the school,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Additionally, he received a government scholarship to Campion College in 1995 where he continued to flourish, receiving eight distinctions in the Caribbean Examination Council examinations.

At A’Levels, he completed four subjects: biology, chemistry, physics and general paper, receiving four As in the interim. He also received the top prize for chemistry in sixth form.

But academic excellence did not stop there for West. His impressive results for the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATS) earned him the Kofi Annan scholarship to Macalester College in 2002.

“Going away was my first choice, and then going into medicine would have been my second choice,” he explained.

In addition to academic brilliance, the Rhodes Scholarship requires one to be heavily engaged in extra-curricular activities.

“At school I was president of a lot of things. I was running a lot of clubs and organisations, and also doing a lot of very hard work,” he explained, in describing his high school years.

“When I got the scholarship, I simply continued doing that – hard work and running clubs,” he added. “I did not stop, and I have not changed in any shape or form what I have been doing.”

West also has a knack for martial arts, which he has been exposed to since his early years through instructor, Errol Lyn.

At age 15, he received an international fighting prize for his division. He was also a member of the volleyball team at Campion College.

“I have always been active in sports also, so I did not just study books. I try to spread myself out a lot and take part in a lot of other things,” he said.

Currently, he is the president of the martial arts and salsa clubs at Macalester College and is also involved in other social organisations such as pluralism and unity, which is aimed at dissecting the class stratification of society in terms of racism and sexism.

West admits that he is an avid fun-lover, with a broad range of tastes.

“I love to go out dancing, I will dance to Sean Paul and Elephant Man like everyone else. I will also dance a lot of salsa and merengue. I also do a reasonable amount of swing, and if I can still find the time, I will also do martial arts,” he said.

He also plays the flute and is fluent in French.

In describing himself in a solitary word, West opted for “determined”.

“It has always been my belief that if you really genuinely want to do something and you put your heart and soul behind it, you can accomplish it, and so far I’ve been right,” he said.

“If you really, really try for something, you are probably going to get it,” he added. “Determination is one of the most important things in my life.”

West said he wants to be a psychologist, but is not sure in which area. He was initially interested in clinical psychology but lately has found himself thinking about social psychology and cognitive psychology, especially where the two areas meet.

“I like the idea of dissecting how people think and what is likely to trigger certain reactions in human beings, and using it as a social tool,” he explained.

“When I complete my studies it could be the next ten years or so. I have no plans to stop before I get a PhD,” he said firmly.