When he was 16 years old, Jermaine Joseph of Wismar, Linden gained admission to the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) to pursue the diploma in agriculture. Two years later, having successfully achieved it, and unsure of what the future held for him, he went into teaching, then agricultural extension work and is now an administrator of the Guyana Chapter of the Partners of the Americas (POA) for which he is the country director.
“GSA made me who I am today. As someone who entered it at 16 years, it prepared me for adulthood. I had to wash my own clothes, and certain daily chores helped me to learn to shoulder responsibilities. I was turning my own keys. I had to plan, not just for school, but for life in general. The theoretical and practical aspects of life at GSA were a good orientation for life,” Joseph told Stabroek Weekend.