BEECHAM HILL, St Mary — At age five Kasheka Grant began entering poetry competitions in infant school. She never looked back. She continued to hone her public speaking skills, medalling in speech and drama contests staged by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission in grade two. Her trophies from those wins are just a few that the 14-year-old now proudly displays on a shelf in her bedroom.

Among the shiny symbols of her achievements are awards to mark her first place in the Region Two Mathematics Creative Musical Piece competition in 2023, as she had done the year before. In April 2022, there was further proof of her mathematics skills and passion for the subject when she topped the National Mathematics Creative Piece Competition under the theme ‘Born to do Math’. She also participated in the Kangaroo Maths Challenge and Youth for Excellence National Mathematics week in 2022 and 2023. In addition, she tutors her peers and helps them with their maths assignments.

Her proud mother, 39-year-old Cyreta Henry, is not surprised because Kasheka is merely keeping a promise made to her.

According to Henry, when her daughter was entering competitions in infant school she told her, “Mommy, I’m going to win all of them. I’m going to win, and I am always going to win!”

A consistent and well-rounded performer, Kasheka has been first in her class from grades one to six, except for grade three when she placed second.

In 2020, she was recognised as the most outstanding Primary Exit Profile student at Beecham Hill Primary and Infant School and also the top performer in the science and ability tests. She continued to excel when she enrolled in St Mary High School, and was named the overall top performer in her class in grade seven, then took second place a year later.

A natural-born leader, Kasheka, while in grade five at Beecham Hill was named head girl, then served as deputy head girl in grade six. Among her more recent accomplishments was being awarded second place in the Jamaica World Day Against Child Labour Video Monologue competition staged by the Ministry of Labour in February 2023.

This comes on the heels of accolades in June 2022 when, for the grade seven-to-nine category, Kasheka won both the poster design and public speaking competitions under the theme ‘The Importance of Volunteerism in Promoting the Mission of Peace Corps in Jamaica’.

She gets strong support from her mother and father, Kevin Grant.

“Kasheka has been diversifying her skill sets as she won the Ministry of Health’s World Malaria Day symposium and display competition. The following year, she placed second in the NCDA public speaking competition,” said a beaming Grant.

The 46-year-old farmer and musician told the Jamaica Observer that while he “spends time with her practising, teaching her a few things, she developed on her own pretty quickly in terms of her own pattern, style and delivery”.

Kasheka’s mother, who is also a maths teacher, has also had a significant influence on her daughter, passing on her love of the subject and penchant for helping others.

Henry copped the Jamaica Teachers’ Council Excellent Teacher Award in 2017 and was named Beecham Hill Primary and Infant School Teacher of the Year in 2017 and 2018. Also in 2018, she was recognised as the school’s most supportive teacher.

That drive to be there for her students, and her daughter, is linked to Henry’s childhood.

“Growing up, my mother did not play an integral role in my life. It was a decision on my part that whenever I have a child, I would be my child’s biggest supporter,” she told the Observer.

While she helps those around her, she finds the time to leave her own mark.

In 2022, Henry graduated from the aspiring principal programme run by the education ministry’s National College for Educational Leadership. As a primary math coach, she was recognised for high performance by the ministry’s Performance Management Appraisal System Unit, further highlighting her contributions to the field of education in 2021 and 2022.

Mother and daughter are both involved with the Friends for Change Foundation, a community-based charity, with Kasheka serving as a mentor and Henry as a director. Both coach their peers to strategise and implement measures that will contribute to success. It is a method that has clearly worked in the lives of both.