“The vision of my school was to empower young persons who couldn’t master the linguistics field, so that they could function and serve the needs of the country.”By Jarryl BryanMany students look back on their High School days with regret at having left behind teachers who were like family to them, but somehow such loving sentiments do not normally extend to their foreign language teachers.This, says our latest ‘special person’ Cecily Bernard, is because the methods used to teach foreign languages in the public school system are of such a nature that some students are easily disheartened and come to regard the subjects with dread.Bernard, the founder and Director of the Language Service Institute, located at 47 Croal Street and Austin Place, is not only an passionate linguist who has mastered speaking Spanish and Portuguese, in addition to her native English, she is also a former diplomat with Guyana’s Foreign Service, and at one point even a model striding out on the runway.But most of all, the proud product and resident of Tucville,China NFL Jerseys, Georgetown, in her own selfless and warm-hearted way, has sought to give back to the land of her birth, through constructive sessions aimed at mentoring youths and providing them with leadership training to one day be community and national leaders.During her modeling stint for the Rotaract, a fund-raising event she helped set organizeHARD WORK IN HER DNACecily Bernard was born on July 6th,cheap jerseys paypal, 1965 to Phillip and Eula Bernard. Proud of her working class roots – her father rose to be the Chief Fire Officer in Guyana, while her mother was a head teacher- Bernard has always maintained that hard work was in her DNA.Though her father passed away in 1981, her mother is still alive. She credits her mom, at the time a school teacher, for ensuring that they were indoctrinated into the school system at an early age and making certain that they could attain not only a premier Secondary School, but one that could instill Christian values.“She wanted me to go to St. Rose’s, which wasn’t the top Secondary School at the time, but she wanted me to have a Catholic education. So even though I had marks for Queen’s College, I went to St. Roses.”According to Bernard, her Alma Mater’s motto of service to God and to man had a profound impact on her way of thinking. In addition, St. Rose’s offered classes such as moral education and the mandated community outreaches at convents and orphanages.She recollected that as far back as 1980, her school had launched a hinterland programme, which sought to impart agricultural knowledge to Amerindian developing communities.“My St. Rose’s days are very special to me. I remember the assemblies and the songs,Wholesale Jerseys USA, a lot of which were about service. Our emblem was serviam (Latin for ‘I will serve’) and it is from there that came the whole idea of serving.”Bernard left St. Rose’s in 1983 after completing sixth form, with every intention of attending University of Guyana, but her parents had separated since 1972, leaving her mother as a single-parent, and she (Cecily) was forced to make the tough decision of entering the world of work.College days in Brazil“She needed a break, so I entered a one-year stint at the Guyana National Energy Authority (a forerunner to today’s Guyana Energy Agency) as a statistical clerk.”She attributes that one-year stint to opening her eyes to the need to further her education. After leaving her first job, Bernard attended the University of Guyana for two and a half years, doing a triple major in French, Spanish and Portuguese studies.“I received an offer from the Government of Guyana to go to Brazil, so I aborted the course at UG and went to Brazil to do Portuguese language and literature as an undergraduate.”Before leaving,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, however, Bernard did a stint as a model for the Rotaract club, of which she was a part. The theme for her catwalk appearances was retro. ‘Back in time’ was something Bernard pulled off with flair and aplomb, but the activities were also to serve as a fund-raiser for the Rotaract.‘A FUN EXPERIENCE’She described living in Brazil from 1988 to 1995 as a fun experience. She had left Guyana in a batch of seven – five boys and another girl – for one of the most beautiful destinations in the world, but stated that only the girls in the group possessed the courage to really travel and sightsee.“The boys were scared and made excuses to not come with us. We did a lot of bussing. Buses travel from one end to the other end. We saw a lot of Brazil, me and the other girls, and we even went to the neighbouring countries.”Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay were not missed out in Bernard’s travels, but she nevertheless remained