I spent the first 18 years of my life growing up in north Florida in the areas surrounding Jacksonville. An interesting fact, most people are unaware of, is that Jacksonville is the largest city in the United States. Of course, that statement would not be true in terms of population; however this is true in terms of area.

There are many other cities and rural places in north Florida of equal value and worth noting such as St. Augustine, the USA’s oldest and first city founded by Ponce de León in his unsuccessful search for the fountain of youth. Palatka, Florida, my hometown, was at one time the most industrial city in all of the state until a fire wiped out the city’s business district in 1884. One hour east of Palatka is one of Florida’s most important cities, Gainesville. Gainesville, although small and insignificant when compared with Miami or Orlando, boasts of being the host to one of the nation’s finest universities. The University of Florida is a tier one research institution that is constantly ranked in the top 25 in the USA in all categories and areas of specialization.
Not only is the University of Florida at the top in all academic categories. It is also well known for its collegiate athletic teams. The Florida Gators just recently won a national championship in basketball. In 1996 they won the NCAA championship in American Football.They have won national championships in men’s and women’s golf and tennis and, in 1992, the women’s track team won the NCAA indoor championship. It has been 14 years since UF has won a women’s track championship (although most schools have never accomplished this). Yet, with a new addition to their squad, they hope to accomplish this soon. Anguilla’s own Shara Proctor recently received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida and become a member of the women’s track and field team. I would like to personally congratulate her on accomplishing this very difficult feat as I am fully aware how good an athlete must be to receive such an offer. There is a high level of personal interest I have in this story as my entire household, until this day, have been diehard Florida Gators fans. It was a dream of mine since I was very young to be able to receive a scholarship to UF. Of course this dream never came true as Florida’s tennis team is always ranked top 5 in the nation and I was simply not good enough (as most are not). It is for this reason that I hope my readers can appreciate this triumph by Shara Proctor.

It is important to recognize youth in general for any and all of their achievements but once in a while you come across a person who is deserving of special recognition. Shara is the daughter of Orris Proctor, Permanent Secretary of Health, and Wilma Proctor, Deputy Director of The Agriculture department. Shara in general enjoys reading, socializing, travelling, meeting new people, listening to music and playing sports.

Shara graduated from the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School last year and at this moment she is preparing for the World Junior Championships which will take place in China. She has been involved with track and filed from a young age and throughout her career has participated in most events. As her skills developed she realized she had a special talent in the long jump and has been concentrating on this event for quite some time now. She will attend the University of Florida where she hopes to major in business. In the future, she intends to “turn pro” and wants to break records and be a role model for children.

Shara, for the most part, has been a successful athlete all around. She has excelled in football and tennis. Although I was disappointed that she did not pursue a tennis career, she has most certainly found her niche in track and field. She is a very determined young woman and it is obvious that her determination and perseverance has already inspired many youth to begin training in the area of track and field. Since I have been coming to Anguilla, I have never seen so much interest in track and field. There are children at the James Ronald Webster Park on a daily basis training for their particular events either with or without a coach. It is a great accomplishment to not only do exceptionally well in a sport, but to receive a scholarship to one of the finest schools in the USA helps put Anguilla on the map in the sports arena and also starts an entire national movement towards youth sports development in Anguilla. The writers of The Anguillian, people of the community, and I congratulate Shara Proctor and wish her the very best in her new endeavours.

As always, if you are aware of any youth or youth organizations that are doing great things, please e-mail jallen@caribcable.com.

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