Photo Caption: Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation presents the 2023 PEP awardee from St Andrew, Mason Smith, with a certificate during the JN Foundation’s PEP Scholarship Awards held at the Summit in New Kingston on November 12, 2023.

Parents can sometimes influence the career selection process of their children. If you ask a doctor or a lawyer today why they chose that career, many may say they wanted to follow in a parent’s footsteps or that a parent encouraged them to pursue it because others in the family chose that career.

Mason Smith, the 2023 JN Foundation PEP awardee for St Andrew, is, however, choosing his own career path, although both his parents are physicians.

“Whatever he wants to do is fine with us, as long as he does his absolute best,” his father Dr Shaun Smith shared.

Mason, a Mona Preparatory alumnus, and current ‘Campionite’, said although he hasn’t ruled out medicine for his future, he’s interested in pursuing a career in computer engineering.

“I’ve been liking IT (information technology) so far, and I just like computers,” he shared.

But although he is making his own decisions about his career freely, his mother’s love for her alma mater may have influenced his high school of choice.

“I felt great passing for Campion because my mom went there. It has been good so far. I’m in the Math and Tennis clubs and I’m thinking of joining other clubs in second form,” he shared.

Mason, who also likes maths, gaming, drumming, tennis, and Kung Fu, has always been a high achiever. His mother, Dr Danielle Keene-Smith said while he has several interests, he has always kept focused on his studies, and so there were no surprises with his PEP results.

“He has always done very well and is very self-motivated. We can see that he feels some happiness when he gets that success, and he knows what he has to put in to get there. He’s always done his work and his teachers always love him,” she added.

Mason’s father said he was also happy about his son’s PEP results as he had worked extremely hard especially over the last two years. “There were several nights we stayed up to midnight preparing so it was really a good feeling to know that he was able to put in the work and achieve his dream,” he said.

Mason’s high achievement also presented him with the opportunity for a five-year scholarship from the JN Foundation, for which Mason and his parents say they are grateful.

“We could not have been more pleased. We weren’t even expecting it and were absolutely overjoyed when we heard that,” Mason’s mother said.

“It’s a great feeling knowing Mason has been recognised for the hard work that he has put in and JN Foundation has been doing an excellent job in recognising these students and assisting with their career paths,” his father added.

And Mason will be working to get other scholarships to help him advance his career goals.

“I want to get another scholarship to get into university and get a degree. That’s my goal. Honestly, I love having fun, but I’m also focused on school because I know that it will take some hard work and dedication to be successful,” he shared.

An only child, Mason’s mother said she is looking forward to him continuing to grow and develop.

“He’s the apple of our eyes and we’re just so proud of him and the young man that he is becoming.”

His father also promised that they will continue to support Mason as best as they can and on whichever road he chooses for success.

“He is an absolute blessing to us, and we just cherish every moment that we have him around. Believe it or not he actually motivates us from time to time just to see how dedicated he is and it reassures us that we are doing a good job.”