GOING through high school was no easy journey for 17-year-old Paul Walker.

There were days when his mother could not find the money, but he was determined to not miss school.

“Sometimes I didn’t have money to give him, but he decided he is not stopping,” a proud Pauline Walker told the Jamaica Observer.

That determination paid off recently, as the York Castle High School student succeeded in nine CSEC subjects last month, scoring four distinctions, three credits and two passes. The subjects passed by the youngster were electrical technology (1), mathematics (2), English language (3), history (2), physics (3), Spanish (2), chemistry (1), biology (1) and human and social biology (1).

This outstanding performance landed Walker the award for the most outstanding boy on the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education in North West St Ann. He was awarded at a ceremony put on by Member of Parliament Dr Dayton Campbell recently.

Speaking of his performance, Walker said that he had expected to do well.

“I’m elated. I expected it. I was confident,” he said.

Pauline Walker was also happy for the last of her 13 children.

“I feel good about it,” she said.

She said that she was happy that her son excelled while on the PATH programme.

“I feel good about it knowing that he made use of it,” she added.

She said that her son faced a myriad of challenges during his high school years, especially financial.

She said that he had sleepless nights as he worked to achieve success in his exams.

“Sometimes he get up at one at nights studying all alone,” she said.

Williams, who would like to become either a paediatrician or an engineer, will be continuing his studies at York Castle High in the school’s newly established Sixth Form programme.

He said he that is looking towards those careers because of his love for children and because he is good with his hands.

Being on the PATH programme can be embarrassing for students, and Paul Walker felt this during his early years, but after first form he got over it.

“I was collecting lunch and I realise others weren’t collecting any and were asking me for some of mine,” he said, adding that it was then he realised it was not a bad thing after all. He was able to get his lunch daily at school because he was on the programme.

He had this advice for students on the PATH programme: “It doesn’t matter your financial restraints, as long as you put your mind towards what you want to achieve, nothing can stop you.”

The intelligent youngster has not only had to deal with his financial situation but the challenge of making persons look beyond his physique. Short in stature, Walker said he has faced questions daily about his age.

“Everywhere I am walking on the road, they would be asking my age. At first I was embarrassed to be short, but I realised it’s a blessing and it’s not your height but what you can do,” he said.

For the jovial youngster who serves at his school as a prefect and peer tutor, his accomplishments also lie in his relationship with God. Being a Christian, he said he was moulded to behave with integrity and so he was able to keep out of trouble.

“It has moulded me to be the person I am today,” he said.

The youngster, who is a member of the Brown’s Town New Testament Church, revealed that prayer was also an active part of his live.

His mother terms him a young preacher who prays most of the time.

Walker, although dedicated to his studies, also finds time to have fun. He told the Sunday Observer that he loves music and enjoys watching television. He also loves going to Brown’s Town, a short journey from his home in Enfield.