“To be honest, I don’t feel pressured. Probably Carnival Queen was more pressure than this.”
Bernell St Rose is approaching the presidency of the Saint Lucia National Youth Council with a poise and calm that many would not have expected. This is especially notable as young people face mounting pressures from the high cost of living, uncertain job markets, limited access to capital and growing social challenges. Maybe that calmness was moulded during her time as president of the Soufrière Youth and Sports Council or during her run as a Carnival Queen contestant in 2023.
Just over two months into her tenure as president of the Saint Lucia National Youth Council, St Rose is carrying what many would consider a heavy responsibility.
“Honestly, my journey has been eye-opening, to say the least, but also rewarding,” she told St Lucia Times. “I came in knowing what the challenges of NYC were, and knowing the extent of work and time that would have to be invested into NYC to make it what it’s supposed to be.”
At the helm of the island’s sole national youth representative body, she says she understands the expectations placed before her and the work required to restore confidence in an organisation she admits has, in recent years, lost the trust of many young people.
“We want to build back that pride and trust in allowing young people to feel confident in knowing that they have a youth representative body that understands the needs that they face and does what is necessary to ensure those challenges are met and catered for.”
Among the concerns she believes urgently need attention is the lack of youth participation and involvement.
“Our young people are very much disengaged,” she said. “Even the art of volunteerism is dying.”
She also pointed to growing mental health challenges among young people, noting that one of the council’s priorities is to create spaces where youth can feel supported and have room to flourish.
“We’re coming in to provide those opportunities, to provide those safe spaces so that young people can feel confident, young people can be motivated, and they can be inspired by so much positive happening, despite the influx of negative that we’re witnessing in our country.”
St Rose also signalled that strengthening student councils across the island will be a major focus of her executive. Truancy and declining student participation remain national concerns, recently raised by Education Minister Kenson Casimir and Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre. She revealed the council has begun discussions with the Ministry of Education and is preparing to visit schools across the island in May to strengthen student leadership bodies.
“We understand that we need to meet young people where they are, and where they are right now is at school,” she said.
While previous councils have faced criticism for losing momentum after their first year, St Rose is confident her executive can chart a different course, pointing to her record with the Soufrière Youth and Sports Council and the partnerships being built with corporate Saint Lucia to support youth initiatives in financial literacy, sports and advocacy.
“We’re here on a whole new plane, with a whole different perspective, in just re-energising and revitalising the youth space in Saint Lucia.”
And despite the weight of expectation, St Rose remains unfazed. Not because the task is small, but because she believes she is ready for it.
“I know what I came into,” she said. “I feel confident being at the helm that I can do what I was set out to do.”
