The future of Bermuda's number one industry — international business sector — was on show at the Association of Bermuda International Companies (ABIC) Education Awards 2009 held at the Harbourfront Restaurant yesterday.

But it was one of the former scholars, Gino Smith, vice-president of underwriting at XL Re Ltd., who really lit up the event with an illuminating insight into his struggle to get to where he is today despite all the odds seemingly stacked against him.

The event, which was due to be attended by David Burch, Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing, among others, featured a presentation of the awards to the winners following the speech by Mr. Smith. The winning undergraduate students included Caroline Berlo, Sophie Burt, Nicholas Butterfield, Eric Cabral, Elkeisha Caisey, Patricia Chisnall, Rebecca Conklin, Sean Crockwell, Jozelle Escolastica, Shari Gilbert, Ashley Madeiros, Colleen McCann, Kenisha Pough, Shonte Richardson, Alton Roberts, Christa Schweizer, Milton Stephens, Marcus Wade, Shawnee White and Shantaya Wolffe. The postgraduate award was received by Jonathan Ball. Fellow awardee Kiara Somner was presented with the 2009 Michelle Outerbridge Award — an award in honour of ICEA scholar Michelle Outerbridge who died in an accident prior to the start of her studies, valued at $5,000, and given annually to the student who displays similar academic achievement and an outgoing personality.

Ms Somner will be attending Temple University in the Autumn to fulfil her ambition of becoming a reinsurance underwriter, majoring in risk management and Insurance and considering minoring in international business. "Once I've reached a point of satisfaction in my life, my plan is to set more goals, achieve them, and continue to set more goals," she said. In his talk, Mr. Smith pointed out how times had changed since he applied for a scholarship in 1996, with international business now surpassing tourism and accounting for more than 70 percent of Bermuda's total revenue, having a knock-on effect on the shifting educational requirements of the country's workforce.

"Experience has shown me that the difference between successful people and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will," he said.

Mr. Smith admitted he had endured a tough a start in life, being raised in a single parent family, leaving high school with a less than impressive academic record and graduating as a an average student with "above-average" potential, as well as suffering from a degree of insecurity.

But in his battle to be accepted in a society where there were many barriers and obstacles standing in his way, he succeeded in overcoming adversity and learnt to believe in himself.

Citing the death of his girlfriend of seven years to pancreatic cancer two years into his university degree and being told he by a British major he was not officer material and would fail his military exercises at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, one of the most gruelling leadership courses in the world, he defied the odds, coming out the other end stronger — graduating with flying colours as class valedictorian and passing his military exams, as the only overseas cadet on the course.

"I readily accept that I am not one of the most talented, but I do consider myself to be a tenacious man of character," he said.

"And in my humble opinion, a man with tenacity and character will always find a way to beat a man with talent. Talent, if not utilised, fades... but character and tenacity endure."

Mr. Smith said his life experiences had taught him the best results are achieved by common sense and perseverance no matter what life throws at you, and to understand that success was not about having the highest paid job, but accomplishing your goals.

"Success is believing in yourself and having the courage to stand on your own two feet, step away from the crowd, and decide to do for you what is best for you — despite what others may think or say," he said.

"It's about setting realistic goals and putting together a plan to achieve them one step at a time.

"Most importantly, it's about having the confidence to pursue your goals in the face of adversity and the willpower to see them through."

ABIC has offered scholarships for more than 30 years to enable qualified Bermudians, in financial need, to pursue their undergraduate or graduate educational goals in areas related to international business. The organisation has provided more than 600 students with two to four-year scholarships since the programme started.

International companies have donated more than $5 million to the initiative in the past 10 years alone, making the ABIC Education Awards the largest scholarship programme for Bermudian university students. This year, the organisation raised $556,500, allowing it to award the 21 undergraduate scholarships valued at $30,000 each and one postgraduate scholarship worth $40,000 over two years.

ABIC has also introduced a mentor programme to assist scholarship recipients in their academic pursuits and future plans.