LATEISHA Daley, 17, is a young woman with a penchant for mathematics and one whose ultimate career aim is to teach the subject.

The Lacovia High School student’s excellent performance in the recently concluded M&M mathematics competition for high schools in St Elizabeth, has demonstrated her ability to achieve this dream.

Undaunted by her competitors, Daley maintained her composure throughout the competition and ended with a whopping 92 per cent – a score which earned her second place in her cohort. And as fate would have it, this was her second time participating in the annual competition.

The teen, who enjoys working with numbers said she finds mathematics “quite manageable”, unlike her classmates and many others who have a phobia for the subject. Daley has said she is inspired by a cousin who excels at mathematics. All the while, she said her classmates and teachers serve as motivators and facilitators of her love of the subject.

Meanwhile, Daley said the M&M math competition had served her well, providing a spring-board from which she can dive into the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate mathematics examination in May 2009 with confidence and high expectations. She added that the competition had helped to reinforce the fact that excellence is not a myth and is achievable.

And her math study tip for classmates and other Jamaica students? Practise.

“Practise is the essence of mathematics,” she said.

Outside of practicing mathematics, the grade 11 student also enjoys reading, playing computer games and watching “high school” shows on the television.