The 17-year-old Warwick Academy graduate says he believes that knowledge is so important because of the things it brings with it -- respect and power.

Donnie, who is considering a career in insurance or law, is working at Centre Re Insurance this summer "trying to get a feel for insurance'' so he can get a better idea of what he wants to study.

He plans to complete the Saltus senior year before going away to college.

Describing himself as easy to get along with but moody at times, Donnie says he likes music, basketball, and girls.

The Warwick resident, who was raised in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, says he would love to visit Ethiopia if given a plane ticket to anywhere in the world because he wants to find out more about his roots.

Noting that people always stereotype Ethoipia as a nation of starving children and harsh terrain, Donnie points out that there are also mountains and rivers in Ethiopia.

"There is a lot more to a place than what you are shown,'' he adds. "It is up to you to find the mystery behind the obvious.'' Donnie says his parents are his role models because they are hard-working individuals and have stuck it out even though they have not had it easy.

"I respect them because I have seen their mistakes and, unlike a lot of other parents who always say they are right, they (my parents) admit their mistakes,'' he says, adding that he admires anyone who is an individual and has "their head on straight''.

"People who know where they are going are worthy of admiration,'' he stresses.

When asked what he thought about Government, the insightful teenager said he thought everyone in Government was trying to get themselves on top and was "doing their own thing''.

"The changes they make don't seem to make a big difference (to the community),'' he says. "They are not worrying about the good of the people.'' But Donnie notes Bermuda's problems do not end with the Government and he believes that Bermudian young people need to "get their act together''.

"The younger generation in Bermuda are doing a lot of stupid things,'' he admits. "They have this mentality that they are invincible.

"They think the world owes them something. In actuality you have to prove you are worth something. No one is going to give you anything. You are going to have to earn it.'' INTERVIEW BY KRISTY WARREN DONNIE MARTIN