Look for a speck of tear rolling down her cheek when Shelly Dass-Clarke completes tonight's 7 pm newscast on CNC3. The consummate professional she is, Shelly will try to avoid any display of sentiment, but she conceded yesterday "it would be emotional." She reads the news tonight for the final time. After 12 years of success in the television media, Shelly is migrating and moving into a major post in Washington, United States. She is to assume a position as a special advisor to the Organisation of American States (OAS).
In Washington, she would be in the power district that includes the White House, the seat of world power. She admits leaving her job as a journalist and newsreader was a difficult one. "We thought long and hard about it," Shelly said, referring to her husband, Robert Clarke, also a television journalist. "We also consulted family members and friends and prayed about it," she added. In the end, she decided to seize the career opportunity.
"I have had an amazing career," Shelly said, seemingly sidestepping the fact that, at age 32, that is a fresh thrust into what is likely to be a long, rewarding and successful professional calling. Indeed, Shelly Dass has been in our living room, on television, of course, for 12 years, which, she quickly asserts, "is more than a third of my life." She started in September 1998 at TV6, later switching to TTT, then returning to TV and to her current post as the face of CNC3.
She is not just a newsreader. She is a trained journalist, having studied at Oral Roberts University at Tulsa, Oklahoma. Shelly also holds masters degrees in business administration and international relations. She has engaged Caricom leaders, local politicians and other movers and shakers, and even Nelson Mandela, briefly, in fast-paced, firm interviews. "I have tried my best," she said in a typical understatement. Trinidad and Tobago's loss is Washington's gain. But before that, don't forget to look for the teardrop.
