She’s pretty, intelligent, and already making herself heard internationally when it comes to environmental matters, yet Clare-Louise McGrath is only 11 years old.
The St. Ignatius Catholic School student wowed adults with her environmental ideas so much that she is a finalist in the 14th annual Condé Nast Traveler ‘My Caribbean Essay Contest’.
Clare-Louise, who is an avid reader, wrote the essay last year, when she was in fifth grade under teacher Ms Howe, and she will represent the Cayman Islands in the final of the essay contest at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s annual conference in St. John, US Virgin Islands next month.
The budding young writer shone brighter than all other Cayman Islands’ competitors to become one of the 23 finalists in the competition
This annual contest is part of a tourism awareness programme for school children between the ages of eight and 12. Grade school children of the 32 CTO member countries were asked to submit a 250 word essay on the following topic: ‘If you were given the responsibility of preserving your island’s environment and maintaining its beauty, how would you do that, and how would you involve your whole community from children to adults?’
After some brainstorming with their teacher, Clare-Louise’s class finally went to work on their essays. The child’s forward, creative thinking, clear ideas and excellent writing skills obviously served her well enough to finalise her essay.
The essay contains detailed action plans, which include a petition for a law to restrict the use of fertilizer, placement of more signs encouraging people not to litter, painted garbage cans on the beaches, introducing more people to the fun of gardening, a gardening show with prizes for the best flower arrangement, and a free showing of a video demonstrating what use of fertilizers can do to the ocean.
So where do this talented child’s ideas and writing skills come from?
‘I love to read. I always liked to,’ she explained shyly, indicating Little Women and the Harry Potter series as some of her favourite books.
So is a career as a journalist or author on the horizon?
‘I want to be a veterinarian,’ asserts the 11-year-old, who explains that animals are her first love. On trips to Ireland, where her dad Donal is originally from, she enjoys horseback riding and jumping and her two cats Skippy and Ginger keep her company at the family’s South Sound home.
The student finalists and their chaperones will fly courtesy of American Airlines to the CTO’s annual conference in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, which is being held from October 23 – October 26. At the conference, a grand prize-winner and two runners-up will be announced during the awards ceremony. A $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to the winner, along with $500 scholarships for the two runners-up. The winning essay will also be featured in the December 2005 issue of Condé Nast Traveler.
The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism contacted Clare-Louise’s mum, Florence, who works at HSBC, at the beginning of summer to tell her the surprise news about her only daughter. The couple also has a 15-year-old son, Daniel. Clare-Louise’s Dad, Donal, who runs Building Design Consultants, will accompany her on the trip. It will be the pair’s first time visiting St. John, something they are very excited about.
‘I’m delighted and proud. We’re very pleased with our daughter,’ he said. ‘The school took the competition very seriously, and I’m very pleased with the way they teach the children there’.
Condé Nast Traveler publisher Lisa Hughes described the children who participate in the competition as ‘exceptional -articulate, gifted, hard-working, committed’.
Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Caribbean Tourism Organization Secretary General added: ‘The Caribbean Tourism Organization is proud to be associated with this important programme designed to prepare our tourism professionals of tomorrow for the opportunities and challenges of the tourism industry’.
Unlike many other travel publications, Condé Nast Traveler (with a circulation of 750,000) does not accept free travel and accommodations, and its correspondents, as far as possible, travel anonymously. ‘The result is travel the way consumers experience it – good and bad, with reporting that is fair and honest,’ says a press release.
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