Twenty-three year old Samuel Bailey is the 2020 Jamaica Rhodes Scholar. He was selected from a field of ten candidates at King’s House on Thursday, November 21, 2019.
In making the announcement, Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen, who headed the Selection Committee, said the choice was difficult because all the candidates were outstanding and were patriotic Jamaicans whose contributions would make a difference.
Mr Bailey, who has been working as a Judicial Counsel at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in Port of Spain, Trinidad for the past year, was called to the Bar in that country last Friday. He expects to be called to the Jamaican Bar later this year.
He is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and the Norman Law School.
The past Ardenne High School student plans to study International Law at Oxford University when he takes up the Scholarship next September. Mr Bailey had previously applied for the Rhodes Scholarship last year but was unsuccessful.
Commenting on his achievement this year, Mr Bailey said he was more prepared for the interview this year, and noted the importance of persevering toward a goal. He added that the past year at the CCJ had allowed him to put into practice a great deal of the theory learned in Law School.
The seven-member Selection panel comprised Sir Patrick, Mr Peter Goldson, and Secretary of the Rhodes Scholarship Trust, Ambassador Stephen Vasciannie, Professor Dale Webber, Dr David McBean, Ms Eleanor Brown, and Mrs Mariame McIntosh Robinson.