By Ashecia Sam. Updated 12:23 a.m., Friday, January 15, 2021, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Feature: Born two years apart, Vincentian brothers Denroy McTair and Demion McTair have always been ambitious and today, they are both celebrating great achievements.
Denroy McTair, the older of the two brothers completed his studies at the University of the State of Quintana Roo in Mexico, where he read for a Bachelor of Science in Enterprise Engineering with first class honours. He made history at the university by being first international student to graduate with a first-class honours degree.
Denroy was awarded for developing a model business plan for an interactive museum for a chocolate company in Mexico.
Before going to Mexico to complete his studies, he also studied International Trade in Venezuela.
Denroy also has extensive experience in telecommunications, having worked with Cable and Wireless for six years.
Demion McTair, the younger brother, graduated from the University of the West Indies, Mona with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrated Marketing Communication with first class honours. He was selected as Class Valedictorian.
Demion started the lone independent student news network on the Mona campus called – Campus Reporter and was awarded for leadership and academics by the University in 2019.
Before pursuing studies, Demion worked in radio for nearly seven years at WEFM. While there, he implemented youth programs such as the annual Youth Summer Reading Challenge to expose young people to careers in media and communication
Both brothers grew up in Campden Park and were born to Karen and Henry McTair. They both attended the Lowmans Leeward Anglican School. Denroy attended the Campden Park Secondary School (Bethel High School), while Demion attended the Dr. J.P. Eustace Memorial Secondary School, formerly the Emmanuel High School Kingstown. They both attended the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College – Division of Arts, Sciences and General Studies.
Both brothers faced challenges during their studies and in their earlier lives. They both lost their father and maternal grandfather during the period of their studies. In earlier life, they faced economic challenges. Both brothers grew up in Christian environments.
Both brothers have lead community groups geared towards youth development. These groups include Spark Inc. and Hairouna Progressive Organization. They were both Head Prefects at secondary school and were both involved in youth leadership.
Denroy is driven by a quote from Marcus Garvey: “if you haven’t confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won before you have started”.
While Demion is guided by a quote from Dennis Waithley: “It is not who you are that holds you back, it is who you think you are not,” and an original quote: “if you want to climb a ladder, you cannot stay at the foot of the ladder and look up and hope to reach to the top, you have to take one step up at a time”.
Questions for the brothers:
What would you like to see?
Denroy: “I would love to see the preservation of our heritage and the promotion of our unique cultural identity. I will also like to see an educational system that is designed to promote critical and analytical thinking to unlock our creative and innovative potential as a society”, Denroy told One News SVG in an interview today (January 15).
Demion: “I want to see more poverty reduction, youth development, food and energy security and environmental preservation,” Demion said in an interview with One News SVG today (January 15).
How could your degree be used?
Denroy: To help develop an environment in which small and medium sized enterprises can grow sustainably. He hopes to spark innovation, creativity and forward thinking to better contribute to the economic development of the country and the region.
Demion: “I am an advocate for the use of communication for social change and development. Communication, especially strategic communication can be used to help governments and organizations rollout plans that meet, in effective ways, the true developmental needs of audiences. It can also be used to foster behavioural and attitudinal changes on many issues. I hope to use the skills gained in the degree to highlight, shape and tackle pressing local and regional issues such as poverty reduction, food and energy security, youth development, the environment and moral decline”.
What are your hobbies?
Both like music, hiking, sports and community work.
One News St.Vincent 