The ability to sing is one of the most beautiful talents in this world and Rhonda Bobb definitely has that ability figured out. The 18-year-old student of Pleasantville Secondary School has recently won the Miss SANFEST title in the Mister and Miss SANFEST Teen Talent Competition, which was held on Sunday 11th November at the Creative Arts Centre, Circular Road San Fernando.
When gieMAGAZINE asked how she felt, a humble Bobb stated: "I feel happy, excited, proud... I also feel accomplished. I never thought that I would have won it because there were 17 other extremely talented young people in this competition and we ALL had pore raising performances, but I thank God that I was able to successfully represent my school and make them (students and teachers) proud.
I'm also proud of and must congratulate Mr. Sanfest, Joshua Ramjohn of Naparima College." Anyone who has ever heard Bobb's voice would admit that it is truly a gift from God; what's more amazing is that she never had any vocal training. When she was asked why she loves singing so much, the Upper six science student replied, "I love to sing because I love enlightening and entertaining others. It is also a way of expressing myself - however I feel, I sing a song corresponding with that very emotion. I'm always happy though, so I always sing happy songs."
Bobb entered SANFEST with the song 'Hallelujah' by Alexandra Burke (originally written by Leonard Cohen). Her prizes included winning the Best Talent (female) trophy, $500, the Torrance Mohammed Challenge Trophy, $2,500 and an IBC Scholarship. She had a very long list of people to thank as well. "First and foremost I would like to thank God for blessing me with the voice that I have, my parents and relatives for pushing and encouraging me and always reminding me how proud they are of me, my RHEMA WORD OF LIFE 'crew' - the youth ministry in my church that always supports me (I can always expect to hear them screaming up a storm whenever I perform), my friends for always sticking by me, encouraging me and supporting me, my teacher, Mr. Kieron Sargeant, for allowing me to represent the school at this event, the members of my school body for believing that I could always achieve greatness, Miss Shella Murray, Mr. Sherid Mason, Mrs. Barker, Ms. Lucy Regis, 'Joey' and Kefim for their inspiring and encouraging mentorship before the competition and last but not least, my fellow delegates of the Mister and Miss SANFEST Teen Talent 2012 Competition, (because of the bond that we had with each other and the fact that we were able to encourage one another throughout the competition) I have grown to love them soooo much! We even had some really cute nicknames for one another (lol)."
Bobb admitted to gieMAGAZINE that her school's response to her win was heart warming. "The Monday after the competition, the teacher who conducted the morning assembly announced the good news. I received many congratulatory hugs and words of encouragement from classmates and teachers. My Principal and Vice Principal, Mr. Phillip Allard and Mrs. Joyce Crichlow respectively, indicated to me how proud they were of my success," she beamed.
Rhonda Bobb has big plans for her future. She disclosed: "In the future I hope to record some of my own songs. I have a few compositions already so hopefully by next year I will have songs on the radio all over the country and by extent, the Caribbean.
But her future plans do not end here. Bobb also plans to pursue a career in Forensics. She said, "Forensics, especially the Pathology aspect of it, has grasped my attention since I was about 13 or 14 years old. I was totally interested in television shows like NCIS, CSI and Law and Order. Some people say it is a little 'creepy' because I would be around dead people all the time, but I actually think it's really cool." she laughed.
So what advice does Bobb have to offer to her peers and those wanting to be successful? Posed with this question, the student (who is currently doing Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Caribbean Studies), said: "PRIORITIZE, PRAY and PERSEVERE!
Another thing that has given me that extra nudge toward my successful life is something that Mr. Don La Foucade said to me – "Storm is spelled S-T-O-R-M...When you take the 'R' out of storm you get the word MOST. So even though we go through difficult times on our road to success, we must try to make the MOST out of every STORM."