He credits his secondary school with making him who he is today; and for Malik Daniyel, giving back to the Garrison Secondary School through its mentorship programme brings him immeasurable gratification.
Daniyel and other Garrison alumni recently participated in a two-day Transitional Educational Skills Programme (TES) for new first form students to make the transition from primary to secondary level a bit easier and less traumatic.
Through the programme, students are assigned mentors who will work with them through their school days. During the summer programme, students meet with new classmates and their mentors and get to be comfortable in their new school environment.
Daniyel, who has volunteered his time to the programme for the past three years, said he got involved because as a former Garrison student, he remembers his transition into the school. He could not get over some of the challenges in being thrown into a new environment.
Therefore when the alumni suggested the programme, he jumped aboard for the opportunity to give back to his school.
“For me, it was definitely a go – and I am always willing to give back to my school in any way possible because my school made me what I am today,” Daniyel said.
The civil engineer at Civil & Structural Engineers Inc., who entered the Garrison back in 1984, said: “Most people would not consider the school as one of the top-notch in the island, but we give [the students] a sense of direction.
“They need to know that it does not matter which school you go to; all the schools have the same curriculum in terms of CXC subjects that they offer, the focus on education – that is our key requirement.”
Daniyel said he was delighted that the Garrison School had been doing well in sports and academics, and parents were even calling to request places for their children at the school.
However, he said this was nothing new as Garrison excelled in sports and academics when he was there, and the tradition continues today.
Daniyel and the other mentors visit the school at least twice per week to interact with the students and find out how they are doing with their schoolwork, how they are coping with each other, if there are any grievances they may have with other students, find out what is going on in their lives, and take them on picnics and educational tours.
“We do not just want to show up at the school when there is a transition programme but to stay active in their lives and development,” Daniyel said.
The mentors interact with parents to keep them abreast of any issues with their children.
To ensure that Garrison’s future remains bright, Daniyel intends to keep working with its students.
He said he helps to guide them and draw their minds to subjects and areas best suited to their career paths.
“I tell them to find what subjects [they] like and try to focus on them. It is not encouraging them to neglect the other subjects but trying to push the subjects they are good at and are directly related to their area of choice,” he explained.
He added that another reward of mentoring was interacting with a roomful of children and maybe impressing a child in a way that changes his or her life.
“If you can achieve that, you can say you have done something great even if you do not change all the lives you touch,” Daniyel said.
He added that talking to a troublesome child and putting him/her on the right path, seeing the transformation from a negative to a positive child who will go on to excel in their chosen area “would be my joy and ultimate reward”.
