DESPITE suffering tissue damage to her right hand during a motor vehicle crash on her way to sit her final examination, Khaelia Murray persevered through the pain and discomfort to secure an A+ in the exam and ultimately earn her bachelor’s degree.

Murray said she was reviewing her notes as her mother drove her to the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, on December 9, 2024 when a trailer truck emerged ‘unexpectedly’ from a side road at the intersection of Garden Boulevard and Daisy Avenue, crashing into the passenger side of the car where she was seated.

“The impact was a bit severe because I went into shock, and the door was jammed in against me,” Murray shared.

The 22-year-old, who was rushed to hospital after the crash, told the Jamaica Observer, “I started crying, and I was taken to the hospital, placed in a neck brace and a wheelchair and I underwent several X-rays. I was diagnosed with tissue damage in my right arm.”

Despite doctors advising her that it would not be safe to sit her solar power examination on the day of the crash, Murray said she was determined to overcome the emotional shock and pain to get to the examination room.

“This was my final set of exams, and I was thinking, ‘I need to get this done because I won’t have any other time to sit it.’ I would have to wait a whole year to sit this one examination,” she shared.

With the support of her family and friends, Murray said she was allowed to sit the examination.

However, she admitted it was far from easy, as she had to take several pauses while completing the exam due to the impact of the crash on her right hand.

Overcoming academic challenges is nothing new for Murray. At the end of her first year, she lost her academic scholarship after failing to maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or above.

“I had some personal family issues going on, and that kind of affected my siblings and I. I lost my motivation to attend classes and finish my assignments because I kept dwelling on family issues and how I can help the situation,” she said.

After seeing how hard her parents had to work to pay her tuition while supporting her older sister, who was attending medical school, and her younger brother, who was in high school, Murray said she became determined to regain the scholarship.

“During the entire second year when my parents had to be funding every month, I used that, and I said, I don’t want to put my parents through any other financial burden because I have two other siblings, and my sister does medicine, that’s also a hefty cost, and my brother, he attended JC [Jamaica College]. They also had his tuition to pay for,” Murray said.

She said witnessing her parents’ sacrifices to support her and her siblings motivated her to work harder academically. Her efforts paid off in her third year when her scholarship was reinstated after she achieved a 3.75 GPA.

“I want students to know that hardships do not disqualify you from success, and there will be moments in life where your plans get interrupted in ways that you never expected, but those moments, they don’t define your limits,” Murray said.

“It’s okay to pause, to feel overwhelmed, and to also ask for help, but don’t ever give up on yourself,” she continued.

Murray is now moving to pursue a master’s degree in renewable energy technology or renewable energy management.

Damage to a section of the motor vehicle that was being driven by Khaelia Murray’s mother when it was hit by a trailer truck, leaving the UWI student nursing hand injuries.