The Eston way

Study centre helps young women develop intellectual and moral virtues

CAROL QUASH,

Published: 28 Jun 2010

Members of the Eston Study Centre team: From left, Siobhan Bereaux, Monica Joseph, Chrelle Moses, Cecily Petzall and Rebekah Chin Lee. Photo: Andre Alexander

The expression “its a man’s world” has become obsolete, since women have infiltrated spaces that were previously dominated exclusively by their male counterparts. And Director at the Eston Study Centre in St Clair, Cecily Petzall, is all for women excelling in their career preferences, while maintaining their values, spirituality and femininity.

For years Petzall and her team at the centre have been offering the young women who use the facility the opportunity to make their mark while simultaneously enjoying life to the fullest, as they engaged in constructive activities—academic and otherwise.
The centre is owned and run by Projects in Education, and is a corporate apostolate of Opus Dei, a personal Prelature of the Catholic Church.

And according to Petzall, its goal is to help young women develop a wide range of intellectual and moral virtues. “At the Eston Centre we provide a comfortable study environment for schoolgirls from ten to 18. It is a supplementary educational centre dedicated to the academic and character formation of young women. Through academic programmes, service projects, and outings, we help them to seek excellence in their studies and to be women of service,” Petzall said, adding that one of the highlights of the centre was its annual Summer camp.

Now fashioned after a camp in Venezuela, Petzall said the Eston Centre Summer camp ceased to be traditional since 2004.
She said a team of young women no older than 25, among them Monica Joseph, Siobhan Bereaux, Chrelle Moses and Rebekah Chin Lee, took on voluntary leadership roles as leaders, monitors and mentors at the centre.

She said some of them had joined the team as monitors, while the others had moved up the ranks after being campers. “Tradition has played a great role at Eston. We have the same campers coming every year, and when they become too old to be campers, some of them volunteer their time as monitors. “The friendships that are forged break many of the artificial barriers we find in society,” Petzall said.

According to Joseph, a 21-year-old Fashion Design student, the camp offered an opportunity for her to express her creativity, while it fostered an environment of unity and instilled virtues and morals in all those involved. Joseph is responsible for the running of the “girls’ club,’” which is a year-round programme for girls between the ages of nine and 12. She said it involved different sessions, including arts and craft and cooking.

“This is a little different, though, because between sessions we have talks about things that the girls want to talk about.”
She said this created an opportunity for respect and bonding, which usually held throughout and long after the sessions had ended. Bureaux, a 22 year-old Economics graduate, said her first encounter with the centre was study related, and the rest was history.

“I began going to Eston Study Centre after being invited by a friend to study there while I was a Form Three student at Providence Girls Catholic School. What impressed me was the comfortable study environment,” Bureaux said. “Its what we use to reel them in,” Petzall quipped in. Bureaux said she eventually got involved in other activities, including the Summer camp, where she offered her services as a camp leader.

“I discovered things about myself that I didn’t even know I was capable of. It was a big commitment, but it was very rewarding, especially when you see the big changes in the girls in your care. They learned how to be more generous, orderly and creative,” she said.

For 21-year-old Moses, a final year Speech and Language Science student at the University of the West Indies, the Eston experience had worked its magic on her. She said her participation in the Hands On Training in Hospitality programme was what got her hooked. “I learnt so many things during those two weeks. Catering basics, etiquette, event management and housekeeping. Even my parents were impressed, because after that our house became more organised,” she chuckled.

“We think its important to help women to learn to express their femininity. Women are generally good at things like cooking, cleaning and nurturing, and just because they are professionals it doesn’t mean they should not embrace their feminine sides. These are things that should be appreciated as much as any masculine trait,” Petzall added.

And Chin Lee, a 20-year-old Biochemistry student at North-eastern University in Boston and outdoors person, has served as camp monitor and leader at several of the centre’s Summer camps.
She said one of the things she appreciated most about the camp’s activities was the friendly competition and team spirit.

“There are a range of activities and everything involves a competition. And not just for regular activities like kayaking or horse back riding. Teams get points for cheerfulness, courage, politeness etc. You name it and there is a competition for it,” she explained. This year’s camp runs from July 5 to 16 and, in keeping with the World Cup fever, the theme is Eston’s Summer Cup.