When Deshawn Newbold heard his name called as the 2026 Headboy of C.W. Sawyer Primary School, he was following in the footsteps of his two older brothers.
And somewhere in that moment, a family legacy came full circle. Deshawn’s older brother, Dominique Jr, known as DJ, was Headboy in 2019. His second brother, Devin, followed in 2022.
Now, Deshawn has completed an extraordinary three-for-three achievement that his parents, Rantica and Dominique Newbold, never imagined when their boys first walked through the school’s doors.
For Rantica, the moment was overwhelming.
“I was overjoyed. It was exciting,” she said. “All I could think was, ‘He did it, he did it, he did it.’”
She knew how much Deshawn wanted the position and she knew the example his brothers had already set.
“His older two brothers had set the bar high.”
The pressure was real, but so was the preparation.
Deshawn’s father said the family’s approach was simple, ‘Put in the work and trust God with the outcome.
“I knew he wanted it. He had put in the work,” Dominique said.
His brothers helped prepare him too, randomly throwing interview questions at him throughout the week and cheering him on as he worked toward the ceremony.
Devin even told his teacher he would be late because he was determined to be there when his little brother was crowned.
When Deshawn received the title, his brothers were among the first to celebrate him.
They hugged him and told him, “You did it. You did it.”
For the Newbolds, the achievement was never about competition between the brothers. Their rivalry is playful—arguments over trophies, grades and accomplishments, but underneath it is genuine support.
“They want each other to do well,” Dominique said.
In fact, Devin’s success had helped Deshawn believe the goal was possible.
“It made him realise it was in reach and is possible,” his father said.
After two brothers had done it, Dominique remembers thinking: “We two for two. We can go three for three.”
The family had already seen Deshawn’s potential from kindergarten. “He loved to work,” Dominique said. “He was not a lazy child.”
And watching all three boys excel at C.W. Sawyer carried another layer of meaning for their father, who attended the school himself.
His first-grade teacher even went on to teach one of his sons.
“I have always seen the leadership skills in each of them,” he said. “But the reality of actually watching it happen was breathtaking.”
Yet the Newbolds believe the boys’ greatest achievement is not a title. At home, they are taught to remain humble, show respect, use good manners and help others whenever they can.
And as a Christian family, they are reminded that their abilities and opportunities are gifts from God, but that hard work still matters.
Rantica said she feels especially blessed because her sons are not only intelligent, but respectful and responsible.
“To have three of them excelling and with good mannerisms was just amazing,” she said.
Perhaps the most powerful reminder of what the family has built came away from the school grounds. When Dominique’s father died last year, grief overwhelmed him. His sons saw their father cry and came to comfort him.
In that vulnerable moment, he saw something beyond academic achievement or leadership titles. He saw three young men who understood that their father needed them.
“That is a moment that I would never forget as long as I live,” he said.