By Latrishka Thomas
Two Antigua State College students who were unsure of how to finance their undergraduate degrees were surprised with scholarships to attend the University of the West Indies after winning a competition.
Keila Lewis and Safiya Crump defeated Reginae Morris and Asha Thomas in the Fortis Advocatus Moot Court Competition – a simulation of court proceedings in the form of a hypothetical mock trial – which took place over the weekend.
Lewis, 18, who also won best speaker in the contest, told Observer that she is now 100 percent sure that law is the field for her.
“I initially joined the competition because I was always on the fence as to whether I wanted to pursue law and I felt taking part in the competition would have given me the experience,” she shared.
And now having been awarded the Prime Minister’s Scholarship, Lewis says the only thing she is unsure of is whether further down the line to become a criminal lawyer or maritime attorney.
Safiya Crump, also 18, knew she wanted to join the legal fraternity from a tender age and would even dress up as a lawyer for school career day.
She said for her the competition concretised that “it’s where I’m meant to be”.
The future corporate lawyer went on to disclose how shocked she was when she heard that her team won a scholarship.
“I’m shocked, I’m in awe but I’m very appreciative,” she said, explaining that both her and Lewis missed the deadline to apply for scholarships.
They edged out two teams from Grenada in the semi-final round on Friday.
The annual moot court competition is a product of the National Mooting Association of Antigua and Barbuda whose directors are attorneys-at-law Andrena Athill, Kemar Roberts, Jeniece St Romain, and Curtis Cornelius.
Cornelius and St Romain coached the winning team in different aspects of the competition.
This was the group’s third year putting on the contest and for the first time it included another country – students from the TA Marryshow Community College in Grenada.
Twelve Antiguan students from the Antigua State Collage and the St Anthony’s Secondary School along with six Grenadian students initially registered for the mooting competition.
The 18 students were paired in teams of two where they prepared written memorials in February to vie for a spot in the semi-final round.
After the qualifying round, four of the nine teams — two from Grenada and two from Antigua and Barbuda — advanced to the semi-finals.
The pairs displayed their oral advocacy skills representing the prosecution and defence before a panel of esteemed judges comprised of judicial officers and senior legal professionals.
In the end, the two local teams nabbed both spots in Saturday’s finals.
The winning team pretended to be prosecutors trying to convict someone of rape and other offences while the other team were defence attorneys.
In addition to the scholarship of $27,000 each per year for their tuition, from the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Committee, the girls won an internship with local law fim Richards & Company as well as a cash prize.
Runners-up Thomas and Morris obtained an internship with the Ministry of Legal Affairs.
Thomas and her original partner, Sowande Francis, also won best written memorial and the TA Marryshow Community College was dubbed best academic institution.
The aim of the competition is to educate and train law students on the inner workings of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and allow for the development of research, writing and advocacy skills.