• In recognition of the winning entries by eight Middle and Senior School Female Students who entered the BPS Short Essay Contest in Honour of International Women’s Day 2019, Bermuda Real will feature each of the winning submissions, with the essay by Warwick Academy Student McKenzie-Kohl Tuckett, Age 15 in Year 11
What Does Female Empowerment Mean To Me?
I’ve always been encouraged to set goals and not stop till those goals are reached.
I’m in control of my destiny. I was being empowered before I knew what empowerment was. Now that I know what female empowerment means and the sheer significance of it, here’s what I’ll do to ensure that as a young woman, I continue to be empowered: I’ll always be my authentic self, as there is no one that I wish to be but me; I’ll take advantage of the opportunities available to me; I’ll take responsibility for the decisions that I make and accept the consequences of those decisions; I won’t be consumed by insecurities I may have, and instead I’ll work toward being the very best version of me.
I wasn’t born in an era when gender inequality created constraints that made it impossible for women to be who they wanted to be. Women today owe a debt of
gratitude to those women who cleared a path for this generation. There is no better way for young women to pay homage to our female trailblazers than by ensuring limitations aren’t accepted based solely on one’s gender. This is what female empowerment means to me.
By McKenzie–Kohl Tuckett
  • The eight Female Student #IWD2019 Short Essay Contest Winners Recognised were: Aaliyah Lee – The Berkeley Institute, Amirh Wade – The Berkeley Institute, Emilia Stowe – The Berkeley Institute (not pictured), Alexis Lodge – Bermuda High School, McKenzie-Kohl Tuckett – Warwick Academy (not pictured), Katarina Rance – Bermuda High School (not pictured), Kimora Waddell-Smith – Clearwater Middle School, Marley Brown – Bermuda Institute
  • There were 6 senior school winners (from The Berkeley Institute, Bermuda High School & Warwick Academy) and 2 middle school winners (from Clearwater Middle School & Bermuda Institute)
  • The young ladies met Commissioner of Police Stephen Corbishley and were given a behind the scenes look at the operation of the Bermuda Police Service by four women in positions of leadership within the organisation – Superintendent Na’imah Astwood, Inspector Tracy Burgess, Detective Inspector Derricka Burns & Detective Inspector Karema Flood
  • BPS thanks all students that entered – their essays showed great insight and a commitment to #BalanceforBetter!