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“Whatever I am today is as a
result of STETHS and the people who I went to
STETHS with. It was a firsthand experience that
I can never forget. I would not change it for
anything.”
Article by: Shirdene Timpson |
For many of us, the memories of school days in Jamaica
incorporate days of sugar bun and milk, canteen food;
packing all your text books in your bag to the point
that it is so heavy you can’t even carry it; getting
your uniform steam-pressed so you can impress your
classmates; getting hyped for sports day; being punished
for not remembering your timetable; fear of being beaten
with that thick leather belt that every teacher seems to
always have hidden somewhere; CXC and GCE exams,
Spelling B competitions, singing the National Anthem at
morning devotion, Graduation day. And the list goes on….
For
Matthew Salmon, memories of school days were
something that got him excited. Excited about playing
football, table tennis, cricket and being Company
Sergeant Major for the Cadet Corp, was a proud
accomplishment back in those days. But it was also the
opportunity to learn, develop, explore and become who he
is today that brought back fund memories for Salmon. He
pledges his allegiance to STETHS, which he says is an
experience that laid the foundation for who he is today
and for his continued success.
St.
Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), located in
Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, started classes in October
1961. Salmon had received a Government scholarship to
attend STETHS after graduating in 1960 from Warsop
School in Trelawny. For Salmon, attending STETHS would
be the first step towards achieving a higher education
and would make his parents and thirteen brothers and
sisters, very proud. But there was only one problem.
STETHS was not officially built yet. Salmon had to sit
and wait at home for over 1 year, often wondering what
his academic fate would be.
The
Early years at STETHS
After about a year, one small building was
constructed and the school was opened for business.
Salmon, along with his colleagues, the first batch of
students were to start an unforgettable journey. But it
was not an easy road at all. The school encountered
numerous problems in the early years, such as lack of
equipment, insufficient water supply and a lack of
proper accommodation. This created limited resources for
the students and for Salmon, this was a problem.
“It was
a problem for us at STETHS because there was only one
building at the school,” he said. “When the school was
really built it was one building. And the building is
now presently the workshop. It was the woodwork and
metal craft shop. So that served as classrooms. Four
classrooms, the Principal’s office, and the cafeteria,
all in one building. I think it is still the workshop.”
Pride, Work, Motivation and No Complaints
After being at school for about a year, Salmon said
a few other buildings were built. “One of the buildings
was the Chemistry lab and a Biology lab,” he said.
“There were rooms in one of those buildings where the
girls would do Home Economics, Typing and that sort a
thing. And then some time after that there was a
building for where we graduated…the Auditorium, along
with the principal’s office.” But that didn’t stop
Salmon from learning. He and some of his other
classmates did Engineering and Drawing classes. “We call
it Technical drawing now,’ he said. “We did metal craft.
We did Woodworks. And like for exams we all took the
same subjects. We took Chemistry, Biology. Some people
did Math and Engineering Science. Engineering Science in
particular, was difficult.”
Salmon
and his classmates were motivated to do well in any
subjects they had to learn and it was this zeal to
follow the school’s motto, “Work and Integrity” that led
them to be among the first batch of graduating students.
Graduation
The “first batch of 25” as Salmon calls themselves,
graduated around May of 1964. As he reminisces he paused
and then smiled. “We were ready to leave because we were
counting down the days when it would come to the last
day,” he said. “You can’t wait and then when the day
came to graduate, you would see big men shedding tears,
everybody was crying. We didn’t want to leave, but
leading up to that, we couldn’t wait until the day
because we were now 19. We thought we were grown men.”
It was these grown men who would become the trailblazers
in leaving a legacy for other STETHS alumni to follow.
After
STETHS
After leaving STETHS, Salmon worked at the Long Pond
Factory in Clarkes Town, Trelawny. He worked there for
about seven months. “There, I did everything,” he said.
“From changing a light bulb, to wiring a motor, to
running wires, to reading blueprint, to running a
powerhouse, to turbines. It was a very good experience
for me.” But Salmon’s potential was soon recognized by
another reputable company and very soon had gotten an
offer to work for Alcan doing what Salmon calls it,
Industrial Instrumentation. “When I found out what it
was, it couldn’t be better, it was perfect for me
because I wanted to do electrical engineering,” he said.
“Here is this opportunity now to embark on this career
called Industrial Instrumentation. It’s a cross between
Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and
Electronic Engineering.”
It was
one of the best things that ever happened to him. Alcan
trained him well in that field and from there he was
able to get additional training at CAST. He worked at
Alcan for about four years and was later recruited by an
American company to help them start a new plant in the
U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1969, Salmon left and spent six
months there, finished the project, came back to Jamaica
and went to work for Esso West Indies Limited on Marcus
Garvey Drive. After working there for about two years
and was offered a position at Revere Jamaica Alumina, an
alumina plant in St Elizabeth.
By this
time Salmon had gained invaluable experience, he had
worked for different companies, attended other schools,
travelled outside the country and back, and now had
returned to the city where it all started. It was almost
like Karma, he was back at the place that had set the
standard for success, hard work, motivation and pride.
“I tell
people all the while, I think I learnt more at STETHS in
that two and half, call it three years, he jokingly
said, than all the other schools I later attended. “I
went to UWI, I went to CAST, and I went to Jamaica
Institute of Management. I have been to other
Universities, Business School…. but I think that my
academic and social experience at STETHS are primarily
responsible for the person that I am. And like I said, I
am more proud about that place than anywhere else.”
Early
Alumni Association
Today, Salmon is still proud of STETHS. He is
passionate about doing everything he can to help give
back to the school and the community. After all, he was
one of the founding fathers that helped to create an
alumni association with STETHS. “We started with a few
of us,” he said. “Most of us were working with the
Bauxite companies and some people with Jamaica Public
Service. Some of the girls were working in the
Mandeville area and we would come down to STETHS on
weekends and we would have meetings.” Salmon said they
tried to start and maintain these meetings but it was
not successful. In 1967, he said they tried to revive
the alumni association but again it didn’t gain traction
due to the fact that everyone lived in various places.
Some lived in St. Elizabeth, others lived in Mandeville,
Montego Bay and Savanna La Mar. “This made it very
difficult,” Salmon disappointedly mumbled, “but we
tried.”
How
we can all help
Trying is all it takes to put together an avalanche
of activities which will allow STETHS to thrive and
continue to present better opportunities for current and
prospective students. Salmon urges his fellow colleagues
to get involved with Steths Alum Corporation and
become more proactive in continuing the cause to give
and support STETHS in its endeavors. “I would say give
whatever you can,” he pleads. “Via Steths Alum, groups
can go to the school, hook up with the Principal and
find out the wants, their needs and see how best you can
come up with some sort of plan or project. If it
necessitates going down there to paint the school, do
some cleaning up, build something…. You have a lot of
people who are engineers, some people who have
Enterprises. You have a lot of people who have some
connections, and that sort a thing. Come up with a plan
that is executable, and get involved.”
What
Salmon does today?
Today, he is executing his own path as a Business
Entrepreneur. He provides merchant services, business
planning, and business improvement to small business
owners throughout the south-eastern United States. He
has never had a lot of resources at his fingertips, but
he has been able to utilize what was given to him and
make the best of it from those days at STETHS to present
times. He has learned the art of survival and making the
best of what you have in life.
His
Philosophy
His philosophy of life and education? “First things
first, it’s a good thing if you have all those resources
in school, but a lot of students now tend to take it for
granted,” he said sternly. “To some extent it is
important what you learn in school but what you pick up
along the way will be responsible for your total
education…..There are certain things that happened in
school that I will always remember them.”
For
Salmon, those days at STETHS and beyond were golden and
even talking about it brought a level of excitement back
into his voice and in his eyes. The memories just poured
out, almost like these events happened yesterday.
What
does he do for fun today? On a lighter side, he loves to
play dominoes at his favorite Jamaican restaurant,
hang-out with his friends and eat some good Jamaican
Rice and Peas, Curried goat and Oxtail. But don’t try
talking to him about any other memories of STETHS when
he’s trying to eat. One thing’s for sure, he is going to
look at you with his black hat tilted to the side,
probably stroke his bearded face and say, can’t talk
right now it’s Salmon Time! |
