Castries, July 20, 2021 – St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) congratulates and is so proud of national swimmer Mikaili Charlemagne. The eighteen year old is one of the five athletes representing Saint Lucia at this summer’s Olympic Games.
A former member of the company’s Scholarship programme, Mikaili is currently in Tokyo where she will compete in the 50 meter freestyle.
The daughter of LUCELEC employee Gabriel Charlemagne, Mikaili was a member of the scholarship programme while she attended the St. Joseph’s Convent from 2014-2019. The scholarship is part of the company’s employee benefit programme offered to children of employees who are successful at the Common Entrance exam. It covers all educational costs for students including the cost of approved text books, stationery supplies, a uniform allowance, school bag, school/facilities fees and one time CXC fees and Cambridge exams.
Students enrolled in the LUCELEC programme also participate in annual skills training workshops. Mikaili credits these workshops for her success as a student athlete.
“Learning the importance of time management and how to effectively manage my time has been a major help for me. The time management skills I learned have helped me significantly as a student athlete. I have been able to find a balance so that my academics are not affected by my participation in sports. This came with lots of practice, as it was challenging in secondary school, but as I have been in College it has become a lot more manageable. The support system is excellent and I am able to apply many of the skills that I learnt from attending the LUCELEC workshops,” Mikaili says.
The female swimmer was granted universality placement to participate in the Olympics. It is a system that allows a nation without an Olympic swimming qualifier to enter up to one man and one woman in the Games. Of her selection to the Saint Lucia team she says, “At first, I was overwhelmed and a bit apprehensive because of the impact of the pandemic on my training. After many conversations with my parents, myself and coaches about a training plan to get better prepared, I felt more confident with the idea of going to represent Saint Lucia.”
Mikaili is currently enrolled at Springfield College in the US state of Massachusetts where she is pursuing a degree in Health Science. She will compete in the 50 meter freestyle event on Friday, July 30. We wish her the best of luck and can’t wait to see her in the pool!
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