‘God really came through for me’
VANESSA Wright lost all motivation to do her Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) last year after losing her sister the day before she sat her first exam.
But, that did not prevent her from passing all five of her CAPE subjects as she earned a grade one in chemistry, one in sociology, two in biology, two in physics and two in Caribbean studies.
For her accomplishments she was among 39 youngsters in State care who were recognised during the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) Educational Achievement Awards Ceremony held at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel on Thursday.
“Last year wasn’t much of a motivating year for me. I honestly felt so devastated because my whole life purpose was my sister. I wanted to do it for her because we already lost our mom in 2020,” said Wright as her eyes were filled with tears.
“I don’t know how I accomplished all that. I was really surprised when I saw the results but I pulled through. God really came through for me,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
Wright, who explained that she tries to have faith even when she has no support, is now pursuing a law degree at The University of the West Indies, Mona.
Like Wright, hard work paid off for Okerie Pennant.
Pennant, who is the top boy for the Southern Region and the Educational Achievement Awards, got all seven subjects during his Caribbean Examinations Council sittings last year.
“It is an overwhelming feeling. I am enjoying it because the amount of work I put in, I actually got some results…that is actually paying off. I thank the CPFSA for actually acknowledging excellence. It pushes children or wards to try to accomplish something great in their exams,” he said.
Meanwhile Mikhala Campbell, who got all her six subjects, said: “I feel really good but I feel like if I worked a little harder I would get more subjects. I wanted to make my family proud and I wanted to make them happy as I have the goal of becoming an engineer.”
According to the CPFSA’s chairman report, 131 youngsters sat exams of which 111 sat CSEC and 20 sat CAPE.
For CSEC, the average number of passes this year were five subjects. Thirty-four of those students gained passes in four or more subjects, with nine of them achieving eight passes while 52 students received less than four passes.
For CAPE, all 20 were successful in one or more subjects, with 11 students receiving four or more subjects.
