SAYEED Bernard says his eyes filled with tears when he got called to the Jamaican Bar on Tuesday, as he reflected on the financial hardships and sacrifices his mom made to ensure he completed law school.

“It is almost surreal. I feel like it hasn’t hit me yet. Tears full mi eye when mi finally get called but when I went home thinking about the journey, I cried just because I came from nothing at all — days of eating cream crackers and sardine — and mi happy because that’s all mommy had and my belly full same way,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

The 24-year-old who is from Cheesefield district in Linstead, St Catherine, read for his Bachelor of Laws at The University of the West Indies, Mona from 2017 to 2020, then completed his two-year tenure at Norman Manley Law School.

He admitted that the financial challenges caused him to be mentally drained, as he worried about finding the funds to sit his exams and start school each year.

“I would start Norman Manley [law school] one month late each year. How the curriculum is designed, it’s as if you are already behind as class starts so imagine going to class four weeks late. You’re playing catch up, thinking about school fee, and plus you are working on the side to ensure you have lunch money,” he said.

“Even when I studied for the bar exams, I didn’t know where the school fee was coming from. You don’t know if you’re going to get to do the exam because you don’t have the money,” he said.

However, he noted that with much help from his mom, Jacqueline Smith, he funded his way through law school with several scholarships, donations and grants.

“When I got accepted at the Faculty of Law I didn’t have any school fee, but my mom had faith. I told my mother I wasn’t going to take out any student loan and she researched so many scholarships and [came to] at a point where I was just writing even for scholarships I wasn’t eligible for,” said Bernard, noting that he also wrote letters about his accomplishments and walked to several business places seeking scholarships.

“Even when I couldn’t afford the textbooks for the courses, my mother would borrow somebody else’s textbook and photocopy the pages just so I could have at least a copy for school,” he added.

He stressed that even though he was discouraged many times, he stayed focused on completing law school. He said he wished more young men would remain persistent during adversities.

“You have a lot of young men out there who just throw their hands up because things are not convenient for them. There are going to be sleepless nights, being hungry sometimes and still going to school, but at the end of the day nothing defeats the joy you get from building something from scratch,” he said.

His mother was equally overjoyed. She noted that it came as no surprise that he did well, as he was always brilliant.

“Words cannot explain how happy I am. I knew he would make me proud as he has always been a bright and humble child. God has really carried us through and I know Sayeed worked hard for this. I remember the days I couldn’t give him lunch money and I would cook, warm his food at work, and take it to him in high school [St George’s College],” Smith said.

“I felt so good when I saw him yesterday [on Tuesday]. I was filled with goose bumps as I said to myself, ‘Is really him? Mi son a lawyer?’ It happened but I’m wondering if it’s really true. I am happy beyond words to see him go through the five years,” she added.

The academic journey, Bernard said, has taught him that all goals are achievable with smart work.

“When I was starting law school my mother didn’t have a dime, and she told me she would give me whatever she had. She didn’t buy clothes to put on her back for years because I had to go to school. I have a younger brother and thankfully, I am in a position to help him.”

“Now,I feel like there is nothing in this world that I can’t do. God was a major factor in it all,” said Bernard who has his eyes set on being a criminal defence attorney.