As someone accustomed to topping his class, 24-year-old Orbin Barnes never imagined that he, as a young Jamaican studying medicine in China, would graduate as valedictorian and deliver his graduation speech in Mandarin.

“I’m surrounded by really brilliant students so I would never imagine that I would top the batch,” he said. Barnes, who hails from Negril, Westmoreland, said his journey to medicine was shaped by a fascination with science, even though he was initially uncertain about which career path to pursue.

“While in high school, I had an interest in math and just figuring out stuff, but I also had a love for science and engineering. But my love for science grew more when I approached the later years of fifth form when I grew more curious about the human anatomy and certain diseases,” he said.