It’s not easy to be an honour student. But it’s not all about blind luck and God-given talent either.

Just ask 17-year-old head-boy at CedarBridge Academy, Scott Kennedy, who boasts a GPA of 3.6: “It’s a natural gift, but it takes more work than talent.”

His favourite classes might be Calculus and English, but he’s still your average teenager and he has to work hard — and stay awake — just like everyone else.

Scott knows what he wants out of life and he’s setting a plan to achieve it. In the fall he’ll be attending Stetson University in Deland, Florida on scholarship.

“I want to earn a financial degree because I want to be a certified financial analyst (CFA) and either work on the Bermuda Stock Exchange or in one of the exempted companies,” he says.

Modest by nature, it’s hard to get him to talk about all he’s already achieved, although he admits to tutoring his friends on the side and spending a lot of time volunteering in the community.

Aside from being a first-degree black belt in karate, Scott is participating in the Alpha Beautillion, a competition where young, black men are bolstered to become future leaders through scholarship and community service, sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (See story this page)

“My competitors and I have been helping out with different community events, like tag day and the reading conventions that happened a few months ago,” he explains.

In addition, Scott is also a part of Lead Bermuda, a new organisation that trains young people to become future leaders, and he has strong opinions as to the state of our island nation and it’s future.

“Right now Bermuda is going in a business-like direction. We’re going to get more money but our values are being undermined,” he says. “(The Government is) throwing away our traditions in order to build up different real estate for businesses to come and take over Bermuda.”

Asked if he has set his sights on the role of premier, Scott simply smiles and says humbly: “It’s crossed my mind, but right now I’m young. I have to pursue my own interests first before I take on those of a whole country.”

But we can rest assured if he were to put his hat into that ring, he’d be an excellent leader. Scott’s five tips to becoming a successful stud<$>:Pay attention in class “Try and find something that interest you in the course. If it doesn’t, just try and do your work as best you can. If you can’t get it, go to your teacher. If you show interest in the course they will definitely help you.”Make sure your home life is good “You don’t want to have a bad home life because that will project in your work. Make sure you settle things with your family and also, try to get some more sleep because if you’re tired in class you won’t pay attention.”Study your notes“Take good notes and take the time to read over them every day. If you don’t take good notes, get someone to help you with that. It’s kind of hard not to take good notes as long as you space out your words and skip lines between every point.”Get your teachers to help you when they can“Sometimes kids will have had problems with their teachers in the past and then won’t go back to the teacher because of it. You have to swallow your pride and go back and apologise so you can have a positive relationship with your teacher. That’s so important because they’re more apt to help you if they like you.”If you don’t like the course, don’t cry about it“If you’re failing or having trouble, go to tutorials, even if it’s after school. Make some time for it. It’s your grade that counts.”