MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Three young residents of Manchester were recognised for their achievements at the recent Rotary Club of Mandeville’s annual Vocational Service Awards dinner.

The awardees at the event, held at Golf View Hotel, were deCarteret College upper sixth- form student Setrice Clarke, and young entrepreneurs Diandra Rowe and Lacey-Ann Bartley.

Clarke, who is a former head girl at Bishop Gibson High and current deputy head girl at deCarteret College, was described as optimistic, charismatic, ambitious, self-disciplined, and one who lives by Christian principles.

According to citation read before receiving her Rotary award, Clarke started her academic pursuits slowly but eventually went on to excel in her Grade Six Achievement Test, and has continued progressing despite having to deal with the death of her father early in her high school journey.

Clarke has plans to study medicine in China or Canada and has already been offered a place and scholarship to study at Anhui Medical University in China.

She is involved in a range of extra-curricular activities, including being certified by the Women’s Centre Foundation of Jamaica as a peer counsellor and, serving on the advisory panel for the Office of the Children’s Advocate. Clarke also does voluntary service with special needs children and at-risk youth, and is the president of the Red Cross Club at deCarteret College and a member of the students’ council.

Rowe and Bartley are both aiming to propel and make their mark in businesses started by their parents.

Rowe, like Clarke, is a graduate from Bishop Gibson High. She furthered her studies in hotel and resort management at the University of Technology and now has ventured into a career as an entrepreneur in the agriculture sector.

She is a 2012 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence in Agriculture, the Jamaica Agricultural Society’s champion female farmer for 2018, and wants to spread the message, particularly to women and children, that agriculture is a viable enterprise.

Lacey-Ann Bartley, who was absent from the event, is managing director of Bartley’s All in Wood.

The woodwork business was started by her father and she entered the business and expanded the product range by offering corporate gifts, household décor and other items made from wood, while helping to provide employment for several others.

Bartley who has a master’s degree from the University of the West Indies, has worked at the institution, is a director of the EXIM bank and is a members of organisations such as the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship which allowed her to benefit from mentorship and grow as a business woman.

She is a past student of Manchester High and was first runner-up in the Manchester Festival Queen competition for 2013.

Dr Sanneta Myrie, guest speaker at the awards dinner, made the point that that young people are now more exposed to challenges such as crime, substance abuse, issues with body image, negative stereotyping, and pressures of materialism — and urged that they empower themselves.

Some of the issues, she said, are compounded by the prevalence of social media.

“Empower yourselves; keep dreaming, keep believing and fight the good fight,” former Miss Jamaica World, who is now employed to the Mandeville Regional Hospital as a physician, encouraged her audience, which included members of various Rotaract Clubs, the youth arm of the Rotary movement.

The Rotary Club of Mandeville’s Vocational Service Awards, in previous years, typically honoured older persons in the Manchester community who are making an impact in their respective fields.