When Marvin Coleby thinks back on his high school years he does so with the realization that he could have performed better academically. He says he was not one of the "academic stars" of his graduation class. That's not to say Marvin failed high school or was some kind of academic slouch -- he actually attained yearly honor roll status, took Advanced Placement (AP) classes and was a part of SPARC (Students Pursuing Academic Rigorous Courses). But he believes he wasn't motivated, and that if he had applied himself fully, that he could have been an even better student. It wasn't until Coleby, 21, who is currently a law student at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, went to university that he developed a more fundamental appreciation for education.
"I never realized how important it was to do well in high school... I never took my BGCSEs [Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education] or BJCs [Bahamas Junior Certificates] seriously, because I think ... my excuse I suppose is because I didn't feel interested enough or challenged enough in the subject matters," said Coleby. "I just wasn't motivated because I didn't feel it was important. I didn't appreciate education as much as I think I should have." The law student has come to realize that high school is where students groom themselves to perform in university. Even though he said high school may seem like all jokes and fun he said it's the place where future leaders are formed.
And that students that don't take advantage of all that high school has to offer regret it eventually, because they don't get an opportunity to take those years back and get a do-over of their educational foundation. "High school is one of those places where you're meant to realize where your passions are, even if subconsciously, and you begin to realize what you want to do in life," he said. While Coleby came to that realization a little later than most he did in fact turn out okay in the final analysis. After high school Coleby was accepted into Bishop's University in Canada where he attended for a year, before he transferred to Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he blossomed and became the student he was meant to be.
He became involved in student life and was elected president of the Concordia Caribbean Student Union (CCSU) and became more involved in student politics, events and initiatives. That sparked his passion for cultural diversity for the son of a French mother, Samira Coleby, and a Bahamian father, Kendrick Coleby. Marvin simply blossomed for lack of a better word as he started to focus on the importance of multiculturalism via the CCSU. He became a part of different organizations with the same focus and the passion he exhibited through his work in the organizations led to him picking up a number of awards during his tenure at Concordia. He was one of two people awarded the Montreal Community Cares Youth Leadership Award for leadership and community work in the area of culture, sports and education and youth empowerment by working with immigrants between the ages of 16 and 19.
He was given Concordia University's Outstanding Student Award in 2012, an award that is given to one student out of 44,000 annually. When he blossomed, Marvin well and truly blossomed. He also picked up the Colors of Concordia Award for outstanding contribution to student life; the Malone Medal Award, an award for the graduating student that contributed most to the Concordia and external community; the Best Club Executive of Concordia award that is given to the top leader of a club at Concordia. Marvin was also noted for being a motivational speaker at various events and encouraging students to pursue their goals. During his tenure he was invited to speak at a number of career advisor days. The young man who said he wasn't motivated in high school had transformed. It's almost hard to believe he's a young man who said he wasn't motivated in high school.
In high school you study a million subjects that you don't necessarily want to study. In university you can actually focus on what you like," he explained. "It's hard to read about something you're not interested in. It's a drag to open a book if you generally don't want to know that much about the subject. For me BGCSE Math was just not my thing. That being said, I wouldn't tell a student not to do it. You have to set that foundation. But when you get off to school, not only do you find what you like, you develop a more fundamental appreciation for education in and off itself. I think that's what happened to me," said the Queen's College graduate.
The dream becomes reality He graduated Concordia University with honors, a 3.9 grade point average and then got accepted into his dream university -- McGill Law, which only accepts 170 students a year; a school that requires students to have a high level of academics, social involvement and to be bilingual. The student who looks back at his high school years and in his mind finds them wanting is now taking classes with Rhodes Scholars, people who have graduated from Yale, people who he describes as "great minds". He may not see it yet, but Marvin is now one of the "great minds". He decided on McGill to take advantage of his dual French-Bahamian background as it allows him to reside in a city where both French and English are spoken.
to be in a system where he could study a multiplicity of law systems -- the American system, the English system, the Canadian system, the French system and the Quebec system, which would allow him to graduate with two degrees -- common and civil law. Being able to practice both French and English was also a plus for Marvin who grew up speaking French. "My mother is a French teacher, and I can't say we actually sat down and wrote because that's not the way we learned the language. We learned it from speaking and reading. I never really learned academic French and even worse, when you read legal English language, that's difficult, it's not easy, and French legal language which is 10 times worse and the level of French I have to read is absurd, so I do get to practice both a lot
Marvin is still undecided about the area of law he wants to practice. The one thing he does know is that he wants to return home to practice. And now one of his driving passions is to do positive things for people. "The reason I got so into cultural diversity is because we have a significant Haitian population to say the least, [and] when I was younger, as a black French-Bahamian-Caribbean person, my friends were confused as to what I actually was. I spoke French, but was Bahamian -- so as far as they were concerned I was Haitian. I felt a little bit of what the Haitian people have to go through in our country and became very passionate about that and how I feel it's a cultural miscommunication between two peoples, and that's the reason I got into so much cultural diversity because I believe Haitian people have a place in our country.
"I am certainly passionate about the plight of the Haitian people, and the beautiful cultural harmony I think we stand to gain from cultural coexistence, but I am also passionate about bringing, along with my peers, more versatile and a plurality of views to The Bahamas and correct some of the issues we have. I think that this generation of Bahamian students has unprecedented opportunities to be off in school, and we are in a position, better than ever, to bring the more positive aspects of these views back to our country, and to our people." Hard work pays off Marvin who said he was never one of those people to look for awards said he now also realizes that winning awards speaks to the hard work people put in.
And that at Concordia University he learned how important hard work was. "My mother says hard work always pays off and I never believed it until I went to Concordia," he said. It's that lesson learned that he believes will take him through law school and allow him to read between 500 and 1,000 pages per week, which he said can sometimes seem daunting boring and tedious on those nights when he's just too tired and doesn't feel like it. What will also carry him through he said is the fact that he is living his dream. And that there are people out there who aren't able to get an education and that he's in a position to receive what for many other people is simply a dream.
"It would be selfish of me to squander that education, or squander not doing those readings that extra night, when someone who wants to do it [be up at night reading] would," he said. It's an education that Marvin is receiving technically via an indirect scholarship and his mother's French citizenship. A deal between the French and Quebec governments allows French citizens with French passports like himself to benefit from Quebec tuition rates per year. Marvin is able to take advantage of a system that allows him to pay approximately $6,000 per year. Quebec residents pay approximately $3,000 per year to attend university; Canadian citizens pay approximately $6,000 per year, while international students pay about $19,000 per year. Coleby who leads a well-rounded life, and who has played tennis all of his life is a member of the McGill tennis team.
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