STEPHANIE Moore recently paid homage to her struggling single mother Petra Ricketts, after receiving 100 per cent passes in the 2011 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examinations (CSEC).

The 18-year-old earned distinctions in mathematics, integrated science, human and social biology, English literature, English language, and office administration. She got a credit in physics and history and a passing grade in chemistry.

They bring to 10 the number of CSEC subjects under her belt. Last year, the teen received a credit in social studies.

“I saw how hard my mother worked to help us. And I am eternally grateful to her and to my school for all that I have achieved,” said Stephanie, the oldest of her mother’s three children.

Her brothers Bradley and Daniel are 14 and 11 years old respectively.

For her efforts, Stephanie, a past student of the Seventh-day Adventist-run St Ann’s Bay High and Prep, won herself a scholarship to Northern Caribbean University.

“I am happy for the scholarship to NCU, but I will not be able to take up this offer at this time. However, I have a goal to be the best that I can be and my mother has shown me how to do that by working hard,” noted the teen, a former president of her senior class and valedictorian at her graduation.

Now Ricketts walks with her head held high, proud of her daughter’s achievement.

“I am more than elated… I am so proud of Stephanie that words are inadequate,” said the mother. “Sending three children to private school as a single mother was not easy, but I had to make the sacrifice because I want the best for my children.”

The single mother opted to send her children to St Ann’s Bay High and Prep after moving from Mandeville. For her, this school was the most suitable for her children.

“I wanted the best education for my children and I knew that this was not going to be cheap. I had to make some serious personal sacrifices. I ‘cut and carve’ and worked my hands to the bones to give my children the best,” said Ricketts, a business woman.

“In one day, I had to give $1,000 to each of my children to attend school, and there were a few days when I had to alternate the attendance of each child, especially when the business was slow. But thanks be to God and to the school administrators who understood my plight and worked with me,” she added.

“Now look at my daughter; she is on the path of fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor and this will take even greater sacrifices, but I am ready for the challenge,” Ricketts said further.

In addition to her mother, Stephanie, who graduated at the top of her class from St Ann’s Bay High and Prep on July 3, has expressed gratitude to her teachers.

“I can recall Miss Trudy-Ann Brown — my form teacher — who told us that for every hour of rest before 12:00 am, it is equivalent to five hours of rest after 12:00 am. So, what I did during the school week was to go to bed at 8:00 pm and I would get up at 2:00 am and study up to 5:30 am. I would then get ready for school,” said the young woman who will attend Brown’s Town Community College this September.

Brown, for her part, had nothing but high praise for her former student.

“You could say that she was a perfect student. The (other) teachers who taught her had high praise for her. When Stephanie gets work to be done, she would go a little further in doing additional work,” the educator said.

“Not only that, when she is absent from school, she would seek out her teachers with a phone call or a message from her brother who would collect her homework and when she returns to school, all assignments were completed. It’s as though she didn’t miss anything. Even during the holidays, Stephanie would ask for work to do. She is indeed exceptional,” Brown added.

— Dyhann Buddoo-Fletcher