Ryan Robinson Perinchief’s work ethic and interest in politics earned him $2,500 from the SAGE Commission and the position of Premier in Youth Parliament.The Berkeley Institute senior was congratulated last week for having the best submission in the under-18 category in the SAGE Commission Awards Programme.The 17-year-old said his 34-page report detailing ways to improve Government efficiency took about three months to complete — suggestions range from improving the government website to capitalising on satellite aerospace to improving the Civil Service.He said the decision to submit his ideas was only natural for him considering his passion for politics.“That’s stuff I’m interested in anyway and I would talk about that stuff for free, so the incentive made me just say well, OK, I might as well do it,” Ryan said. “I didn’t really have to go out of my way to think of something and put it together. It was just natural to me.”Ryan’s political interest has been a part of him “since birth”. As the son of former Cabinet Minister Wayne Perinchief, he said politics “runs in the blood” and he intends to pursue a career as a politician in Bermuda.“A part of being a good citizen is engaging in ways to make the country better based on your skills and abilities,” he said. “I believe that I could best serve Bermuda in such a role in the future.”Heading into his final year at Berkeley, Ryan already has a plan laid out for after graduation. His first step will be applying for the Rotary foreign exchange programme.“I plan to do foreign exchange, where you go to another country for a year and finish off high school there, so I might do an extra year of high school in a foreign country if I get accepted,” he said. “I’m thinking Brazil maybe.“Then, as far as tertiary education, university in England for maybe law, and then maybe the US for business and then that would be my stepping stone to politics.”Although Ryan said he is very focused on academics as he finishes high school, he’s devoted his time to a wealth of other activities as well.“I just finished up in Youth Parliament,” Ryan said. “I did maybe four years of that, worked my way up to Youth Premier.”He also has almost a year of experience volunteering for St John Ambulance.“I’m a first aid volunteer and I’m joining the duty section there, so I’m looking to take a leadership role in St John Ambulance,” he said. “I’m looking to get my qualification up to a medical first responder in February, get my medical skills up.”The summer has been busy for Ryan, between compiling his entry for the SAGE Commission and a recent trip through the Centre for Talented Youth.“When I had a couple of hours I would sit and research and look at it and type it up,” he said “I finished [the entry] in maybe mid-July because I went away, so I wouldn’t be able to submit it on the August 1 deadline.“Literally the night before I went away I was staying up and I woke up at like 5am to just finish it, just to get it sent off.”Ryan then travelled to California where he participated in the Civic Education Project, a joint endeavour put on by Northwestern University and Johns Hopkins University. He described the three-week programme as focused on community service and community development skills.Ryan returned to Bermuda just in time to learn that his submission to the SAGE Commission had been chosen as the best in the under-18 category.“I just felt like my time was worth it, all the effort that I put into it was worth it,” he said. “I was just happy.”Ryan said that other students seeking success should strive to make a positive name for themselves.“Young people should not be afraid to stand out from the crowd,” he said. “[They] should not be afraid to speak up and make their opinions known, and overall should stay active in whatever it is that they are interested in — in school, life, and everything else.”*See Ryan’s complete submission to SAGE at www.sagecommission.bm.