“I was upset!” 16-year-old Jenelle Grandison told TEENage how she reacted after finding out her grades in the recent Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) exams. “I was disappointed, but then I recovered and said I did my best, so I’ll accept it.”

Such a reaction would lead one to think that the St Jago High School student barely scraped by with Grade Threes for her subjects. One would not believe that she scored an astonishing nine Grades Ones in Spanish, French, information technology, English literature, principles of business, social studies, mathematics, biology and chemistry and a Grade Two in English language.

When TEENage asked the TEEN, who resides in Willowdene, Spanish Town, where her inspiration to do well comes from, she said that it came from herself.

“I’m my worst critic and I’m very hard to please, so my standards for myself are very high,” she explained. “Failure is not an option.”

The young lady, who described herself as “pertinacious, kind-hearted, ambitious, diligent, and introverted”, shared that she constantly puts other people’s needs before her own as she firmly believes that one should do what one can to help people while they have the power to do so.

Grandison wishes to become a forensic pathologist so that she can play her part in decreasing Jamaica’s crime rate, but in the immediate future, she plans to advance to St Jago’s sixth form programme.

“Persevere,” she advised those who will tread the path she did. “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”