Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 01, 2023 News
Making the most of what life hands you
Kaieteur News – Sometimes, the plans we make for our lives don’t always work out. We don’t always get what we want, and things may not necessarily unfold the way we would like them to. Even when we try our utmost, there are obstacles that we just cannot remove or situations we just can’t change.
In some cases, we may verily believe that we are making the best decisions for ourselves, that we are preparing for exactly what we want to achieve. Yet some mature folks may say that a lot of times what we want is not exactly what we need, and our desires may not be aligned with what is actually in store for us and the purposes we are here to serve. Sometimes, they say, all we can do is to make the most of what life hands us and do the best you can with it.
My colleague at Kaieteur News, and our young professional of the week, 26 -year -old Shervin Belgrave, has no issue turning his lemons into lemonade. A squatty, energetic young fellow with less than three years -experience in the media, Belgrave is already emerging as one of the bright newcomers in the industry. With a sharp focus on crime and incidents, Belgrave is also a key feature at the newspaper and continues to show great potential in his field.
A St. Roses High School alumni, Belgrave said that from a young age, he had seen himself becoming a neurosurgeon as he felt it was a good way to help others. Financial constraints however would prove to be one of the biggest hindrances to getting the ball rolling on his dream.
Belgrave said he had moved to Venezuela and eventually joined the family’s mining business as he needed to earn money.
Working in the mining sector for several years, Belgrave said he had managed to open his own shop and was managing well until the economic downturn hit Venezuela. In 2019, Belgrave said he returned to Guyana since life in Venezuela had gotten difficult. “When I came back to Guyana, I was job hunting,” he told the Coven. “I needed work and one day a friend of my mother told her about an advertisement in the newspaper.” It was an opening for a radio announcer on Kaieteur Radio, Belgrave said.
“But never in my life had I thought I would become a journalist, a writer or reporter or anything of that sort,” Belgrave related. He told the Coven that it was never in his plans to be a part of the communications sector, but noted, that people in his life were aware of his potential, and saw the radio opportunity as a great one. Belgrave explained that in high school, he participated in and won several school debating competitions. He said that was one of the main reasons why his mother’s friend believed that he could be an announcer on the radio, since he had some amount of public speaking experience.
Nervous and unsure about getting the spot, Belgrave auditioned and to his amazement was employed by the company. After a few weeks on radio and co-hosting an on air programme, Belgrave said the radio staff was asked by management to spend some time in the Kaieteur News room so that they could become acquainted with news, and understand how it is produced.
The training session opened the door to a completely different sense of adventure, Belgrave related. He said he spent three months in the newsroom…“and from there, I developed a passion for reporting. I fell in love with it; I liked it and was easily drawn to cover the crime beat.”
Belgrave said that as a youth, crime shows, mystery and investigative pieces captivated him, as he spent a lot of time looking at various investigative crime programmes. For him, it was a new and exciting turn of events to now be able to be part of the process of reporting the news. Belgrave said he quickly jumped to the opportunity when the opening for a crime reporter came. He said he could not believe he was covering an area he enjoyed so much, while making a meaningful contribution to society, by getting the news over to the public promptly and accurately.
Belgrave said that he is quite satisfied with his position as a crime reporter despite the job landing in his lap without any warning. The reporter said he is
determined to succeed in his profession as the service he provides is valuable to all within the society.
Belgrave said that there are challenges that come with being a crime reporter, but he is prepared to handle them accordingly. For one thing, he said, not being a trained reporter makes writing the perfect story a bit of a challenge; but that is an issue he knows could be rectified with practice. Belgrave said that choosing the perfect angle for a story with punchy headlines may also be a challenge, but again, this is an issue that will be remedied with time he said.
“Love your job. I love what I do,” Belgrave advised. “If you want to be successful and excel at what you do, then do what you love.” Belgrave said some things he does to ensure he’s on the right track with his stories are to question its purpose, to gauge what he believes readers need to know, and to ensure the right message is being communicated to his readers.
“Creativity and confidence are keys to becoming a good reporter,” Belgrave opined. He emphasized that as a reporter, you must have, “confidence in yourself to overcome fear when seeking information from politicians, the police; confidence that your information is accurate enough to ignore critics, those who may want to cover the truth or manipulate it.”
Belgrave said that for intriguing stories, one could be creative in the way the story is told to captivate readers. One may also look to be creative in the way they assemble the information as well. He added that dedication is another key element for a reporter, as it would be for any other job. It may require longer hours and demand that one functions at unusual hours, but once the dedication and love for the job is there, it is really a pleasure at times.
Outside of reporting, Belgrave also dabbles in photography, another activity he engaged in as a child. Belgrave said he loves to travel and visited a number of beautiful places in the region. Photography, he said, is an excellent way to hold on to memories. Over time, capturing memories became a hobby that has grown into a small business called Snap Brim Photography.
Belgrave said that he may not have achieved being a neurosurgeon, but he has found a profession that he loves and where he can fit in. “I am still able to touch the lives of many through my reporting,” he said. He noted we may make all the plans for our lives, and it may be the greatest feeling once we achieve it. He opined however that the feeling of satisfaction must be the same when someone finds their calling and begins to settle in effortlessly.
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