The future looks bright for promising mechanical engineer Sekai Wainwright-Basden.

The CedarBridge Academy student will graduate from high school this month, hot on the heels of graduating with merit from Bermuda College on May 17.

Juggling college courses with high school as a dual enrolment student is no mean feat.

“If you’re looking for a free ride out of high school, it’s not for you,” Sekai, 17, said of taking the two-year Certificate in Applied Technology.

“It was very, very challenging at first. In high school, you have teachers telling you to hand in your work.

“At Bermuda College, the teacher isn’t going to say anything if you don’t hand it in. You’ll just get a zero. Either you keep up or you get left behind.”

Sekai’s love of mechanics started at home.

His father, Captain Kenneth Wainwright, a quartermaster at the Royal Bermuda Regiment, wasn’t the only one who liked working with machinery.

Sekai said: “I grew up around it — my father, uncles and godfathers all worked for the Government, and I was bought up around fixing bikes, Mobylettes, anything. My father had two jet skis and every weekend he would be out tinkering.

“Trucks were my main focus as a youth, but I decided to take it a step further. My career goal is to be a mechanical engineer and specialise in diesel technology.”

Sekai’s mother, Reshika Wainwright, a compliance officer at Ascendant Group, put him forward nearly five years ago as a summer student at Belco, where he was been kept on ever since helping to maintain the fleet.

“My household is a very tight ship and my parents are no-nonsense,” Sekai said. “Getting in trouble is not allowed.”

Studying at Bermuda College also offered an escape from the traditional classroom setting, which Sekai said “was not for me”.

“This programme allowed me to use my skills directly towards what I aspired to do.”

Getting stuck into maths, science and engineering came with learning classic Bermudian trades such as electronics, carpentry and plumbing.

Sekai had extra hurdles to overcome before he could get certified by the National Centre for Construction Education and Research.

“I took the course twice and passed 100 per cent both times,” he said.

An administrative error at the NCCER meant that some records were lost, so Sekai had to retake the course, which he took as an extra challenge.

“You can’t tell me ‘no’ — I’ll try my best just to prove you wrong,” he said.

Sekai has been accepted to study automotive solutions and mechanical engineering at the New England School of Technology.

He said he felt traditional trades were “dying out” in Bermuda and that he also hoped to challenge stereotypes.

“You shouldn’t put people into a category just because of what their interests are,” he said.

“Trades are also seen as male dominated — it should open up more.”