Gaius Hendrickson St Marie, the sixteen year old who was awarded a scholarship from the Saint Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) to attend the prestigious SPISE Programme in Barbados has returned home with two awards.

St Marie was judged the “Most Outstanding” and recognized with the “John and Dorothy Herzog Award” for which he received the autobiography “Steve Jobs” by William Isaacson. In addition he was also awarded the “Most Improved Student in Electronics”.

The annual SPISE Programme in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is offered to the most-gifted Caribbean students. St Marie was the youngest of twenty-two (22) students who attended SPISE 2014.

Of the four week long course, St Marie says, “It was an awesome experience, getting to work with so many brilliant minds from the Caribbean.”

In addition to being taught university-level courses in calculus, physics, biochemistry, entrepreneurship, Caribbean Unity and Mandarin, St Marie also completed hands on projects in under-water robotics, renewable energy and electronics.

SPISE students also participated in a career seminar series where they heard first-hand about the career paths, decisions and experiences of six eminent professionals in science and engineering from the Diaspora and the Region.

St Marie returned home to good news about the record seventeen (17) CXC subjects he wrote at the end of his time at Saint Mary’s College. For these efforts, he received fourteen (14) Grade One passes which includes ten (10) distinctions and three Grade Two passes.