NCB Foundation grant helps student pursue tech passion

When 21-year-old Dave Flowers discovered that his information technology (IT) exam fees for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams were being covered, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"One less struggle for my mother," he said. A past student of Denbigh High School in Clarendon, Flowers was one of the thousands of students who benefited from the NCB Foundation's CSEC/Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) National Bursary Programme. He continued receiving support through sixth form, where he pursued CAPE computer studies. Speaking with JIS News, Flowers recalled that he learnt about the bursary on the day when he found out the subjects he would be doing in CXC.

"At Denbigh they would normally give out this form with all the subjects that you would be doing and the subjects that you get a subsidy for," he said. It was a moment of relief for his family, especially his mother, Elisa Taylor, the household's sole breadwinner.

"My mother was just as glad as I was. It felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders, because it wasn't easy knowing that she had to pay so much for all those subjects. So, when she found out that there was an easier way out, with less stress on her, she was glad for the opportunity," he added.

Flowers sat eight subjects in CSEC and passed five, including IT with a grade three. At the CAPE level, he passed all his subjects: sociology, physical education, computer science, Caribbean studies, and communication studies. He managed these academic achievements while playing on his school's volleyball team - serving as vice-captain in grade 11 and captain in lower six.

Now enrolled in the computing programme at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), Flowers is pursuing a passion that sparked during childhood.

"[Computing is] something that I liked from when I was younger. Something that I just had a natural passion for, so that's why I chose to pursue it," he explained. He said the interest began not with computers, but phones.

"I remember having a phone in grade eight, and... I was messing around with it once, and I ended up dismantling the whole entire thing and putting stuff together. It worked. And then it kind of just went on from there," he said.

The youngest of four children, Flowers is the first in his family to attend college. He credits his success to the unwavering support of his mother and siblings as he works through the four-year degree. Now having completed his first year at UTech, Flowers is already thinking about the future.

"I would like to go into multimedia. I remember this time - I think I was in grade nine or grade 10 - I went to Kingston at SportsMax. And I was looking around the place and I felt like this is where I wanted to work. This is something I probably would like to do for work. So, I guess it stems from that as well," he said. Though computing and multimedia are different fields, Flowers plans to supplement his degree with additional courses that align with his interests.

Each year, the NCB Foundation partners with the education ministry and the Overseas Examinations Commission to cover examination fees for students in both public and private schools who are pursuing IT and computer science at the CSEC and CAPE levels.