It is said that if you do good, good will follow! This has proven to be the case for four Tivoli Gardens High School male students who were seen in a video that went viral in June, of them trying to de-escalate a brawl between a teacher and a fellow schoolmate.

The four grade-10 students – Daeshawn Tate, Shane McIntosh, Zachary Skeine and Akon Douglas – were all awarded for their courageous and exemplary behaviour by Burger King yesterday (August 18) during its annual scholarship and awards ceremony held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

They each received a plaque and scholarships bursaries of $25,000 towards the next academic year.

This gesture from Burger King comes on the heels of the students being honoured in July with plaques from the Optimist Club of Trench Town recognising them as winners of the Inaugural Young Peacemaker Award.

Our Today spoke with Zachary Skeine who was present along with his mother to collect his award yesterday.

Skeine shared that it was a huge crowd that drew his attention to what was happening on the day of the fight.

“While mi see everyone laughing and having fun, I took it to a different level and seh ‘No, this cannot be happening’ and I intervened and tried to part the fight,” Skeine recalled.

He said that, in his bid to assist the teacher, he tried to restrain his fellow schoolmate by holding on to him along with the others.

He told Our Today that he was very grateful for the recognition of his actions and the award he received. “It mean everything to mi. If mi nevah did part the war, mi wouldn’t get this.”

The 17-year-old student, who hails from Rose Town in Kingston, dreams of becoming a producer because he has a love for creating rhythms.

“If that don’t work out, my next move would be to join the Jamaica Constabulary Force or the Jamaica Defence Force because of the violence I see daily. The environment I live in is the reason why I would want to join.”

Skeine credits his mother, Janice Skeine as being his biggest motivation, who inspires him on a daily basis.

In an interview with Our Today, the proud mother described the incident her son helped to de-escalate as despicable and one that should have never happened. She however shared that she was proud that he was able to step in and stop the fight.

“I am very very proud of my son for what he did. It goes to show that I did a good job with him. He knows he couldn’t have done something like that [fight a teacher].”

She said she was aware that, at times, anger can get the best of a person and so she ensured that she taught her son how to control his temper.

“The scholarship means a lot. I am grateful that someone was able to see something different apart from the fight and took the initiative to award the guys,” the proud mother shared.

She advised students to be respectful and behave appropriately for their age. She also urged them to do good when it is required of them to do so.

READ: 21 years of greatness! Burger King awards over $8 million in scholarships