2014-15 PALAS TOP PERFORMERS STORY (3 of 5)…JULENE M. BARRETT of Kingston, Jamaica : Medical Student at University of Technology- GUYANA with 4.0/4.0 ("A") average in medical school. Holds a Bachelors Degree in Pharmacology with 1st Class Honours. Conferred with the University of Guyana Award & Guild of Graduates Award ....she has 18 CXC/CAPE passes with 10 distinctions

Julene Barrett is a resident of Kingston, Jamaica who currently attends medical school at the University of Technology in Georgetown, Guyana. She recently graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Pharmacy, 1st Class Honours from UTECH in Kingston, Jamaica. She currently holds a 4.0/4.0 or "A" average in Medical School. Julene has passes in 18 CXC/CAPE subjects with 10 distinctions (grade ones). 

Below is the essay that Julene submitted to the Peace and Love Academic Scholarship, Inc (PALAS) committee for evaluation of one of the sponsored scholarships. Julene scored the 3rd highest score, 28.5 out of a possible 30 points with PALAS this year....

She writes in her essay......

 I have always enjoyed watching television as a young child; I particularly enjoyed the fantasies my mind 

Julene Barrett, medical student at
 UTECH-Guyana, has straight "A" or 4.0/4.0 Avg.,
18 CXC/CAPE

frequently toyed with as I let myself become someone else. I became the person who lived in a neighbourhood where everyone was friendly and felt safe in their surroundings. My dream was surrounded by hearty laughs, hopeful people and the sweet aroma of baking goods. But like the flickering and fading 
images of any television show reaching its end, so were the false dreams my senses pretended to include. 
Instead, I was constantly overwhelmed by sad reminders of what my reality was: an inner city community plagued by frequent gun battles between neighbouring gangs and minimum wage citizens struggling to 
make ends meet. Memories of my two siblings and I sharing a small bed in a sectioned portion of a building 
housing five other families further fuelled my desire to translate misfortunes into motivation. Protected and guided by a mother who was forced to spearhead a single-parent household by spending long hours sewing, my desire to succeed was nurtured. 

I therefore introduce to you, Julene Marie Barrett, a surmounter devoted to successfully bettering life by impacting any person who I encounter. I am a Jamaican student currently pursuing my Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Medicine (MBBS) degree at University of Guyana, School of Medicine where I have steadily maintained a Grade Point Average of 4.0 whilst being employed part-time to cover my daily living expenses, rent and bills. 

PALAS, 'Preserving Young Minds for Posterity'. Please help us to support these brilliant students by donating at www.PALAS1.org or Send a check to PALAS, P.O Box 5461, Alpharetta, GA 30023. more