16-year-old Cornell Jno Baptiste, who according to the Ministry of Education made history in Dominica by becoming the first ever student to get 11 ONES in a CSEC exam, is attributing his success to “hard work, commitment and dedication.”
Jno Baptiste, who attended the St. Mary’s Academy (SMA), hails from the village of Salisbury and was the top student in the island’s 2007 GSAT exams.
Speaking to DNO in an exclusive interview, he said he is proud of his achievement. “I feel proud and elated and always knew that I was able to do it,” he stated.
Jno Baptiste plans to go to the Dominica State College (DSC) and major in Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology. He wants to become a medical doctor and eventually an orthopedic surgeon, since he has broken his arms three times, or a pediatrician because of his “love for helping people.”
He has a message for other young people. “Be humble, you can’t ignore your studies and expect to do good, study hard, make the necessary sacrifices, be focused, give up being on the social media networks like Facebook and pray every day and night and God will see you through,” Jno. Baptiste advised.
His mother, June Jno Baptiste, who is a teacher at the St. Martin Primary School, said she is very happy because of her son’s achievements. “As a parent, I make it my business when it comes to the education of my children….. Cornell always wanted to pass a child who a few years ago had gotten 10 Ones, and so I am not one bit surprised,” Mrs. Jno Baptiste stated.
She labels her son as “an achiever” who always ensures that he “reads and his school work is done.”
“He has a passion for learning and I gave him the necessary support … he is not a book worm, he is just a humble child, very helpful to his fellow students, respectful and quiet. He has made his village Salisbury, school, church, family and friends proud,” she remarked.
Cuthbert Elwin is the principal of SMA where Jno Baptiste was the 2012 valedictorian. He said he is extremely happy at the outcome of his student’s results.
“For four years we have been trying to get 11 Ones and it has eluded us. Finally Cornell has conquered … I am not surprised at all …. he has always been a good working student, I wish him well in his future studies,” Elwin said.
My daughter has to do just as good as you or better in Jesus name I pray Amen.
shut up
con-grates keep it up
Cong-rates i wish i was good like u
Congratulations keep it up
congrats cono cono wishing u all the very best in your next chapter proud of u, to mum keeping on doing your very best as a teacher and as a mum i love you both hard work always pay OFF.again congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!wow wow.
Congratulations!!!Proud of the young man from Salisbury. I’m Salisburian/Dominican/American. We sure are smart. Go for the stars. Yes you can!!
congrats to his parents and the village he should be trying to get into an ivy school now, hope his mother took advantage of a recent meeting in Dominica of a Jamacian educator who was there recently, she helps prepare kids to top universities in the states,Congrats to all the young people who made it , its only by hard work you can achieve
Congrats well done, you needed to set your goals on an IVY lEAGUE school , reach for the stars.
Too much academics in Dominica, we need more well-rounded students, academia is not all, we need students involved in athletic + academics look at Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad, Usain Bolt of Jamaica, Kirani James of Grenada, all we do is producing people who can pass exams. So many Dominicans pass exams and look at our progress as a nation, we are the poorest in the OECS.
are u sure u wish to do doctor. i would go for somethjing that paying more for ur hard work. do not go cuba. get a scholarship for ur hard work. some cuba students doh have most of the subject and they doing doctor. ……………………
hehe. One thing DNO comments has been giving good doses of laughter today.
Congratulations Cornel, I am proud that you have worked had to enhance yourself. You have made Salisbury proud. I know you have become an example to someone in the village.
CONGRATULATIONS Cornel Jno Baptiste. You made SMA, your parents, your community and church proud.
Congrats also to boys like Sharome Burton, Dre’ St. Claire, Sheldon Alfred, Denzel Laurent, Kieiron Francis and other top SMA students. Go for boys!!!
Congratulations to you as an individual and on a wider scale, I want to recognize ( St. Mary’s Academy)SMA for giving us former students hope that our old school still got it! I went to SMA,then onto college in Dominica and University in states, but my school spirit died when I left SMA. This is where my heart is! Thank you brother Cornel, stay focused!
Congratulations to Alize Charles top student of the Portsmouth Secondary School. She achieved 5 grade ones with distinctions and three grade twos. Added to her two grade ones from 4th form she has a total of seven grades ones and three twos. She was student of the year at this years graduation and received several subject prizes. She also took the award for school spirit. She participated in the Miss teen competition and represented her school remarkable placing third overall and capturing the awards for Miss Intelligence and Best in Evening Wear. She is actively involved in sports and represented Dominica in volleyball and netball at the just concluded Windward Island Games. She was also very involved in school life being the president of the newspaper club a member of the Student Government Association representative and a member of the PSS creative arts club. She was the ideal student balancing academics, sports and other activities. We are proud of her and want to wish her the best in her future endeavors. We want to encourage her and say thumbs up for a job well done. Keep reaching for the stars Alize.
Why do ppl do that. When there is an article about someone doing something good, we always write in the comments about someone else whom we know. Really. DNO cah publish all success stories, but call the ppl and they will publish something (maybe) on this Alize person. Besides, five ones cah shade 11 ones. Be happy for someone for once. Nou tro jalousi.
JUNE I AM SO HAPPY 4 U AND CORNEL AFTER ALL THAT U’VE BEEN THRU.
Congratulations young Cornel, you deserve all the accolades. I will also say a special congrats too to your parents who have not been mentioned much here. I am not sure of your situation but I know that there must be at least one adult (most likely one of your parents if not both) that has/have made a significant contribution to your success. Acknowledging your parents does not in any way diminish your efforts. You go boy. Let the sky be your limit.
Greetings my people congratulations to the young man. now we need to work on the Case of the lawman who was arrested and charged with shooting with intent on a child molester and the rapist who was not charged with assault with intent to burger a toddler in other words a child of tender age.
lol…
Why kill the child by sending him to state college, send the boy to the University of the Southern Caribbean in Trinidad and let him get his first degree in Biology. then go to Ross university to do medicine, state college waste of time
I can name top CXC students from Dominica all with one’s that attended Dominica State College or CDCC as it used to be called. They’re all very successful today. There’s nothing wrong with this state college if cornell continues and remain serious about his work. Stop crying down the college! Furthermore, a child like cornell shouldn’t attend Ross university but should aim a bit higher like Johns Hopkins in Baltimore Maryland. If it’s medicine he wants to do then he needs to focus on getting into others like Columbia, Emory, Harvard, Stanford, UCLA etc etc or any of the top schools in England. All Cornell has to do is get excellent grades in the STATE college do his SAT’s or A-levels to the best of his abilities and when he’s done apply. Once Cornell’s high SAT scores are processed, they’ll offer him the world in scholarship, stipend, room and board. He may never have to pay one dime to attend school. There are a few Dominicans I know personally who went to state college, then went to an accredited university here in the states and they transferred to ivy league medical programs with their high grades. Please do not discourage the young man in this way. Let him finish and go through the emotions of his success. Let him think about his next step. Leaving your home and your country can be quite the culture shock and you should take time to prepare for it. Believe it or not this does affect some people. I’m sure his mother and his family will direct him well as they have been doing good for years. Let the child be!
You must be an adventist. Been on earth for so long and only heard of that University wo years ago when I became friends with an adventist.
Proud SMA past student.. Smartest men alive S.M.A congrats to the other school same way
Salute to the young man….He is truly an inspiration and the fact that he recognizes the things that will distract him, and that all of his help comes from the Lord is exceptional. Mama you did a fantastic job with your son. ALL THE WAY TO MD, from your mouth to God’s ear…you already have it.
Congratulation young man; another great achiever who hails from my adopted village – Sailsbury!!
Congratulations to a wonderful young man who has allowed the Lord to lead out in his life. Do remain humble and let him continue to lead. Congrats on your future endeavours.
Congrats and the best of luck! Is the Government going to offer this young man a full scholarship to pursue his studies? No mention of that! He defintely deserves it!
It is a given he will have a full scholarship at the state college. He will very likely be the Island Scholar if he maintains that pace and even without that, you can sit comforted that this young man will recieve a substantial government scholarship to university.
Congratulations Cornell it’s men like you who bring hope to the youth when there seems to be none.
Mr. Jno Baptiste I remain VERY proud of you and glad that you were able to do this. Remember me say that “education is the key out of poverty”? well young feller get ALL the education that you can and always look at the sky as your limit. You deserve MUCH MORE THAN $5 so this may have to be multiplied!
June and Errol, GREAT JOB….. you were the 1st teachers and ofcourse for all those who have had a positive influence this is for them too.
God’s blessings son now and always!
Congratulations Conell!! You deserve it. You have made yourself, your family, Salisbury and Dominica very proud. Continue to remain focus and may the good Lord continue to shine on you. That’s just the beginning of the BIG STAGE…. We wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
Congrats to this young man, we have always seen the female conquering so i must say keep it going. I would like to see a D/can get 13 ones because im surprise that this is the first in D/ca
Congratulation to you my dear, wish all the blessings of God upon you
hope you keep on working hard and don’t let anyone brings you down . There are a lot of Haters out there so be careful who you follow
I know if I was close by i would have gotten a one in Maths
Congrats Connell :
Congrats job well done be whatever u heart desire u to be, wish there were 5 more teenagers like u out there keeping making y parents proud and y community, girls will come later keep y head up, I don’t know u but i feel good about y achievements, you make us all very proud.
Again we say congratulation to a bright future.
congrats young man. you have brought joy 2 ur parents heart. ur mom is doing well at st martin primary too. she is a great teacher very articulate and takes pride in teaching. good job junox
Cornell, should you make it to the United States to study, room and board is on me. Congratulations! Keep your feet to the ground while you reach for the stars.
Born in Delices!
Wow! this is such great news. i am very proud of you. Hope other young men will follow your footsteps. Good going. Keep it up.
CONGRATULATIONS Conell!! you deserve it…..you are a Salisbury man. We applaud you on your achievement. You won the Gold Medal and you made HISTORY.
We are proud of you and we thank you for doing it for yourself and for us…nobody can question the potential of Salisbury and that’s just the beginning of the BIG STAGE… All the best to you and your family in your future endeavors.
Coming from Ivance George Representing Salisbury in ALASKA.
Mr. George representing Salisbury in Alaska.
The total percentages of overall passes at the private schools, like the CHS and the SMA are NOT true reflections of the overall pass rates of these schools. The private schools select their best students to do the CESEC exams, with the schools. The less able students are forced to take the exams privately. A true reflection of the overall pass rate is to look at the scores of all the students, who finished Form 5 and sat the exams, in these schools.
The government schools cannot discriminate and so all students, who completed Form 5, are allowed to sit the CESEC exams. That is a reason why the government schools seem to have a generally lower pass rate.
Also this is an unfair practice of discrimination in the private schools. This needs to be corrected, by the Ministry of Education or challenged legally.
It also put poor parents in more expense, since they have to pay two sets of registration fees – one with the school – for subjects they are taking with the school and one for the subjects they are taking privately – the ones the schools forced them to take privately.
All this discrimination is done to make the schools look like they are top performers. The true data would show otherwise.
You have major issues!!! take your stats and proclamation elsewhere. Let the young man have his moment tanpuie souplay. Some of you Dominicans are just way to bitter. What the hell does all this ranting have to do with a young man who worked hard and it paid off?
You are very correct. Just yesterday I asked a teacher from a public high school why is it the students are only allowed 7/8 subjects and at the other schools they do 10, and 11. She explained that government only allows the students to do 7/8. What the private schools do is that for those students who they know are exceptionally bright, they allow them to sit additional subjects under the school’s name. However, other students can sit additional subjects privately.
So I agree, it is unfair to portray CHS and SMA as the top schools except you are only looking at the 7/8 that is allowed in most schools by the MInistry of Education.
MoE is very much aware of that but you know how it is already.
Your comments are very inaccurate, yet you speak with such authority. Typical Dominican.
Wait but why is when the boy pass his exams a moment to celebrate Cohenval & Me using to complain about number of subjects. Send a letter to DNO to start a fresh topic. I find this very selfish and self serving for the two of you to use his moment of glory to gripe. Sounds like you all are bitter. Make matters worst the both of you are lying and have no clue what you are speaking of
Ahhh, congrats! This mother must be proud mams
Very well done young man! Hard work pays.!
Mwah!! Congratulations young man! Whole of Dominica is proud of your accomplishments. Keep up the good work.
If you change your mind about Medicine, think about becoming the PM of Dominica in about 15 yrs… that’s another good goal to set your eyes on.
WOW!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! 11 ones? You will go far my boy. Just keep your head up and you will be what you want to be
Congrats. Enjoy every moment of your success.
Great performance! CONGRATULATIONS!!
Congratulations Cornell. May God bless you!
superb
Mr JnoBaptiste, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Also Congratualtion to your proud parents, more so your mother, who I know from the cradle devoted herself to her children as a mother, besides being a teacher, to make sure you all excel in school. I am not one bit suprised of your achievement, WELL DONE!! You have made your parents PROUD! And I hope other young men and women coming after you, be inspired by your hard work, dedication, and GREAT achievement, and that they see you as a Role Model! EDUCATION IS THE KEY THAT OPENS EVERY DOOR! CONGRATULATION once again.
Congratulations young man on your achievement. Just reading this gives me goose bumps and you know what it was not a young lady who top the polls! it was a young man; who says that boys can’t do well, ofcourse they can! sometimes I believe we criticize them so badly that they conclude for themselves that they are worthless, but all we need to do is treat them as we do the girls because they are all children, blessings from the same God, we need to love them the same and we will see wonders happening with our boys. When our boys begin to develop into achievable young adults and men believe me we are going to have a more productive community and country.
Once again my boy CONGRATULATIONS and all God’s blessings upon you, may God lead you into a properous and bountiful life.
Salisbury ahead again!! Go Salisbury.
Congratualtion!!!! When one aims high, they achieve high. Good luck in you, getting two years in the state college will be a plus for you. If not, I suggest getting a scholarship and going for your dreams…Always put the lord first in what ever path you take.
congrats proud of the jno-baptiste
There i a joy when a less able student does well. Then when a bright students Cornell excels, there is this feeling of admiration and pride.
@Cohenval.. what you see behind the person child and his grades nah? You all over the place ranting. He EXCELLED 11 ONES sakway toneh let the young man have his moment. He is to be blamed for being disciplined, or the fact his mom is a teacher. So many teachers children don’t get those kinds of grades, the boy had a family pushing him, but he APPLIED himself. In the examination room it was him and the Lord and what he retained. Let him be. You like sourpuss all over. Go tutor your child and set standards.
Congratulations Cornell, Keep up the good work and may your achievements be a lesson to the younger children of our village and Dominica on a whole.. There is education to be had by all. Marijuana, dressing up, being with older men or women and social media is not all. The English system of education is way ahead than the American system. It starts from kindergarten to college. May our teens and other young adults take you as an example to achieve the highest level of education possible. You Journey has just begun. Teacher June great job.
From day one, you have maintained your love for school and has gone on to prove to all ,anyone can do what one sets out to do .Congratulations!
CONGRATULATIONS YOUNG MAN, IT IS VERY REFRESHING TO HEAR GOOD NEWS ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE FOR A CHANGE……
Congratulation to you Conell. I’m so proud of you. I always knew you could do it….Hats off to your parents. SALISBURY IS AHEAD!!!
I commended Connell in a separate post, because this is his moment to shine, and I was not willing to take it from him. I now extend my congratulations to all the other students who performed very well on their exams, especially our young men from SMA. You have also made us proud as a community and as a country. Continue to work hard; continue to strive to overcome the many challenges that will no doubt present themselves. You have climbed one more rung of the ladder; don’t lose your focus now. With God all things are possible. Remain in His love.
Finally, in the words of Mahatma Ghandi, be the change that you want to see in the world. May God bless you abundantly.
Great Job,son of the nature island’s soil!
One thing that must stand out in his statement to other young persons and should be a lesson to parents also is to focus less on social media like facebook.
Too many distractions which cause our children to underperform in school and also the parents to be unproductive in the work place.
Take the advice my fellow Dominicans!
congrats Cornell!! dont know you personally but im always glad to see our youths doing something positive all the best in the future!!!!!!
Congratulations on your success. Continue on your journey to becoming the best that you can be and as your go further inspire others to do their outmost best. God bless
Congratulations young man, you have a bright future ahead of you. Congrats to your parents and family as well as they have clearly invested heavily in your future.
I hope they listen to him. Our kids are too preoccupied with nonesense. Everybody doesn’t have to get 11 ones, but hard work, determination and discipline are torches that should never be put out.
Great job Cornell your extra tantie well proud of you yes. I’m keeping my composure
Congrats young man. Others need to heed his words esp about facebook. It’s taking its toll on our society.
Congratulations Dude!!!
I am happy that you mentioned to stay away from Facebook.
This Internet is additive and we will continue to see mediocre results from the majority of our youths as long as they make the social media their home.
Congratulations to you! I hope the Government gives you a full scholarship to study anywhere you like and afford you the opportunity to pursue your dream of becoming a medical doctor.
wow. positive words, i wanna do just like you next year.
Congrats!!!
Congratulations Connell, we are exceedingly proud of you. We always believed you could and would do it, and you did not disappoint. We wish you all of God’s blessings as you move on to greater things. The sky is the limit when you journey with God. Onward christian soldier.
Well I do not know you, but as a John Baptiste myself from Bawi I want to say well done. I will even go as far as claiming you as my cousin because I am so proud of your acheivment. Gongrats! Well done cous.
Oh he from Salisbury no wonder, cause we have 18 seats that believe in handouts. No wonder layba cannot win Salisbury, hard working people.
lolololo!i had to laugh at that one!
Cornell’s Mom Said: “He has a passion for learning and I gave him the necessary support … he is not a book worm, he is just a humble child, very helpful to his fellow students, respectful and quiet. He has made his village Salisbury, school, church, family and friends proud,”
I’m just so inspired by what this lady’s words. Parents in Dominica should be inspired by her son and the way she goes about providing that necessary ‘support’ for her child. Children need support and parents who are there to listen and assist them day-to-day. Many people we say that children these days are bad but all you have to do is look at how their parents treat, speak, counsel and love them to know how a child will turn out. Dominican children have the potential to do great things if their parents focus on them. Another important point is that parents in DA need to respect their children. Yes, I said ‘respect’ because children need to feel that you appreciate them and that their opinions matter. The more you listen to your child, the more you will be able to weed out any issues they may have and direct them on the right path. Congratulations to Cornell and his wonderful mom and family.
Dominica State College to do what? with grades like this you should be immediately offered a scholarship to go directly into an institution which may later offer you a scholarship. The government should already have something set up for students like you. You are the cream of the crop, so unless there is no hope for any other option, I would not advice DSC at this point. Try your uttermost best to get out there.. Dominica has relationships with some reputable Universities in the States and UK….. talk to people.. and get out there, let DSC be your last option. You have come this far and you have been consistent, so continue to reach for the stars.
I don’t see a reason for people to dislike this comment. Some of you read and not understand what is written.
So many students with ones went to DSC which was CDCC at the time I was there. If he goes to the states he will be back in high school unless he does SAT’s which is just English and Maths. He has excelled in so many subjects and should have the time at DSC to explore other opportunities. Many of my friends and I did the same, went CDCC and moved on to the USA and we did great. Dominica schools prepare you for the universities in USA. Dominica’s college is ten times more difficult in terms of challenge than American Universities unless you’re in honors class or doing advanced degree, attending university is like drinking soup!
Exactly….Go UK and get international respect
Negative persons like you that keep Dominica down.
Why do we always want to assist and promote others instead of our own?
Do you know that some of us parents are so negative that we produce negative children, always have something bad to say about our Dominica, they are the one that goes into the same instusions to work? They teach what they know “negativity”, except for some who are very strong and turn to the positive.
God Bless Dominica, our institusions that we will grow and produce positive adults for our Nature Island Dominica.
God Bless ALL of us.
hey young man congrat to you and your family as .d/can living in st.lucia .dont know you but am proud of you .and i hope others can b motivated by you.may godbless you and your family and continue to excel yound man…..
It’s wonderful to see young men excelling too.. Congratulations and continued success!
Good Job Cornell. You made the S.M.A Alumni very proud.
Good luck in whatever you choose to do.
We always believed in you. You are such a humble, respectful young man. The sky is the limit Dr. Jno Baptiste.
DNO an u please give the subjects he got the ones in
that is not really your business!
I do not understand you. What you think, is obeah they want it for nuh, very silly!
Real Talk and good advice to fellow comrades. Congratulations Cornell. It really brings me joy to see that guys still have the ability to excell and be mentors. Keep trying to bring along some more guys on this education/ success journey that you have embarked on.
Excellent work, Cornell!!! This is really outstanding, and accomplished as a MALE. Who says that boys/males can’t achieve? just treat them the same way we treat our girls and the results will flurish!! So happy for you guy.
So proud of the young man from my beautiful village. We Salisburians have always been the best. Congratulations Cornell for a job well done, and kudos to your proud parents!!!!
whats in this comment to dislike?? i guess you don’t understand what the comment says..
cos peeps from Canefield and Cochrane don’t take kindly to Salisbury people saying that they are the best. best what?
Congratulation Mr Jno Baptiste. I think receive so many ones is an accomplishment. I will like to congratulate the top student in Antigua and Barbuda who have received 16 grade one’s in the CXC exam.
Why try to take from the boy’s glory? Let him have his moment! Geeze!! If you want to congratulate your people do it on your own media! Stupes! You pretend to pay him a compliment but you’re really saying he’s not good enough cause one of your people got 16 One’s!!! STUPES!!!
A RECORD in the region!!…What part of that you don’t understand?…Stop trying to compete with Dominicans and accept defeat. Don’t spa with us ok. Antiguan educator my a..
actually both of you are wrong. firstly its not a region record. its a record for Dominica. the article was written wrongly. secondly, the boy in Antigua didn’t receive 16 ones but 14 and actually from what I heard there were two students in antigua that recevied 14 ones in the same year. so don’t tack on the extra two please. lastly, why would this idiot “Antigua Educator” want to take away from Jno Baptiste’s glory. its his moment to shine. it was a selfish and crabs in a bucket sentiment. shame on you.
16 ones in home economics and what else?
arts and craft, physical education and other subjects that is not needed for the antigua state college.
@genesis: physical education is not as unimportant is it seems to be. it does not only involve sports but there is now a text book for this subject. it is very similar to biology and as difficult as any other subject
That was uncalled for, childish and immature.U could congratulate Mr. Baptist on another article.
Simple put, grow up
Chupes with your Antigua story!!!!!!!!!
Very distasteful for an educator, allow the young man to enjoy his moment to shine. There are many other Caribbean countries who have better results but this is not the time and place to say that. Very disappointed in you.
wooooow coniell did it congratulations !!
wish you the best of luck hunni…..make ur dreams come thru