A series of tragic events, heavy enough to break the strongest mind, gave Tashalee Nicholson reason to push hard and excel.

The 12-year-old’s life was uprooted after her mother’s house was destroyed by a fire in 2020. The following year, she had to act quickly and aid her mother who was shot in the leg while they were both at home. Following that, Tashalee lost her one-year-old sister.

Today, Tashalee is smiling from ear to ear, having aced her Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination and landed a spot at her first-choice Wolmer’s High School for Girls.

“I feel great because I know that I have done my best. I feel wonderful! Preparing for exams wasn’t rough for me because with my teachers and my friends, they helped me. I also joined a study class with my friends so it wasn’t bad for me; it was great,” Tashalee told the Jamaica Observer last Thursday.

She recalled her mom being at work on July 8 when the PEP results were released. She received her results while she was at home with her aunt and described it as a joyous moment.

“She was so excited; she jumped, she screamed, all of those stuff. She said ‘Good job, good job, congratulations!’ and she was cheering me on and she was happy,” the 12-year-old related.

Tashalee scored 369.3. The perfect score is 400. The PEP exam score is used to place students in secondary schools across Jamaica. She also performed better than 85 per cent of the 35,292 students who sat the exam this year.

She scored 352 in mathematics, 330 in science, 334 in language arts, and 342 in social studies. Additionally, she has been awarded a scholarship from her school, Winward Road Primary and Junior High.

Bubbling with pride, Tashalee told the Sunday Observer that the scholarship is a big plus.

“The scholarship makes me feel great because it helps my family and it really shows me that I can be much more in life,” she said.

Her mother, Trudi-Ann Gillespie, couldn’t help but marvel at her daughter’s determination, following the series of mishaps.

“I lost my house in Bull Bay in November 2020 and then I moved in with my mom for a little while. And then I got shot up September last year — the house house got shot up — and my daughter was at home with she and she was the one who was there for me. She assisted me in that moment. She tied up my foot and talked to me and made calls. She called my mother and family members,” Gillespie told the Sunday Observer, noting that after that incident she relocated again.

Her daughter’s academic success, she related, came as a pleasant and well-needed surprise.

“I am proud. She is excellent. I can’t find the words, because I never expected it, but I know she is a determined child because a late at nights she go to her bed and she get up early in the morning and done her work. It’s God’s grace. As a child she always believed in God and she always a pray. I am grateful for the scholarship, too. She pushed and she still tried, despite everything. She never made anything stop her,” Gillespie related.

Gillespie also pointed to the death of Tashalee’s one-year-old disabled sister. Gillespie said she raised the baby girl, who was Tashalee’s paternal sister, and as such, both girls had a close bond. She told the Sunday Observer she was worried that the infant’s passing would have affected Tashalee’s academic performance.

“She was disabled and they grew up together. I tried to carry her to counselling but it never worked out because she is not talking. I don’t know if she feel any way or what. I don’t know if she feels a way inside because she is not expressing her feelings to anybody. All when me break down, she doesn’t,” the mother shared.

Dr Beverley Scott, child and family therapist, told the Sunday Observer that Nicholson should be continuously monitored.

“She cannot talk about it as yet. It is too painful for her. She will do well academically but she is hurting emotionally — and that’s not good for her. When you have a death in the family or a tragedy in the family, the person who does not say anything is the person to watch because that person may be denying it or may have not gotten [accepted] it,” she said.

“I would advise the counsellor to get the girl to understand what has happened and how much it has affected her. Tell her how much she has gone through and let her know that the fact that she has done so well in school is amazing and just so wonderful. Praise her for what she has achieved in spite of all of this, and let her know that this will affect her and she needs to talk about it. One of the best therapy is talk,” Scott added.

When asked what was her source of inspiration despite the challenges, Tashalee shared that she relied on YouTube to help her move towards her goals.

“I usually watch videos that motivate people and bring them up, and I decided that if I want something in life, I must do what I can because my career in life is very hard to accomplish. So, I really want to study to accomplish that,” she told the Sunday Observer.

“Even though sometimes the situation can be hard for you, it is good to cry, but sometimes you have to suck it up. If you want to accomplish something, you have to suck it up and push hard to accomplish your goals,” she said, adding “I want to become a medical doctor who works in hospitals and in the army, or I want to be a robotics engineer.”