AT just 14 years old, determined to take over headlines as one of Jamaica’s top young achievers, Alison Jacobs is building a resume that spans technology, academic excellence, research, entrepreneurship, and the creative arts.

The grade eight student at Merl Grove High School is proving that age is no barrier to innovation, becoming the founder and chief executive officer of StudySovereign, a mobile application currently being developed to help Caribbean students organise their coursework, improve their study habits, and achieve academic success in their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).

Among her list of achievements is her recent selection by assistant lecturer of information technology and computer science education at The University of the West Indies, Camille Berry, and a global research expert from London to participate in an upcoming, two-week, academic research initiative to strengthen her application’s performance.

Alison is also executing a clothing line collaboration with local fashion house Dirt Hands Designs to feature her original logo. She is a television actress, author, honour roll student, and debater who recently completed her electronic document preparation and management examinations at the CSEC level, and is preparing for her information technology and principles of business examinations at the same level while also pursuing digital media at the CAPE level.

Alison said she also has dreams of becoming the next youth mayor of Kingston, adamant that she will be remembered for her discipline and determination.

“I am leaving a legacy to be one of the youngest and strongest youth leaders in Jamaica’s history,” the 14-year-old told the Jamaica Observer, adding that she has dreams of becoming a criminal lawyer and entrepreneur.

Alison shared that from a very young age she’s dreamed of becoming a young achiever — inspired to excel and advance in her educational journey in ways her mother, Toya Jones, could not because, as a child, she lacked the necessary resources. Now, with more opportunities, Alison said she is going full speed ahead.

The youngster also aspires to bring other youth along the journey, which is why she will launch StudySovereign in August. The application is targeted mainly towards under-resourced youth. It will feature structured revision past papers, flashcards, and revision guides that align with the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) curriculum, making them more accessible and the learning process more interactive.

“I wanted to inspire students who have anxiety during exams, and I wanted to use an open-source technology to bridge that gap and give every Caribbean student an elite, high-quality studying tool basically on their phones, or tablets, or whatever device they’re using,” said Alison.

She said she is building and engineering the platform independently, using advanced Python 3 logic to build the backend engine, moving past standard visual blocks like Scratch to ensure the system is ready for the 2027 Caribbean STEM Olympiads next January.

“I am entirely self-directed. I mastered computer science concepts and advanced coding syntax by studying open-source code repositories on platforms like GitHub and analysing global tech framework documentation. The core database for the CXC subjects, interactive flashcard engine, and specialised exam anxiety relief modules are fully structured. I am currently upgrading the platform with user-metric features like score-tracking algorithms,” said Alison, boasting that while the process might sound complicated, she finds it rather easy.

A lover of all things technology, the 14-year-old said she’s always enjoyed building things from scratch and watching as they came to life. She said she particularly enjoys building robots, and is currently engineering an eco-friendly robot from recycled items that can walk, talk, and pick up trash.

When pressed on how she manages to balance her various responsibilities, she said discipline is a key element.

“If you don’t have discipline you’re not going to be able to do all the things that you want to accomplish. You can’t want something and not go for it, because you have to sit down and do what you have to do to get results. You can’t expect that today you do something and tomorrow you get the results. For example, for me, while I was building my robot and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is taking so long.’ But I know I wanted to see results so I sat down and I did it — even though my back is hurting me,” she told the Sunday Observer.

She said she hopes to inspire other youngsters to do the same, already plotting that if she is awarded the title of youth mayor of Kingston she will open workspaces where young people can come and talk about things they are passionate about, and receive guidance on how they can achieve their objectives.

“I want to be a voice for the younger generation and my peers,” she said.

A single mother of two, Jones said she is incredibly proud to witness her daughter bloom where she was planted.

“Every day she is growing and improving. She pays attention to her work. When I go to school, the teachers always say, ‘Mommy, your daughter is such a good girl.’ She pairs herself with the prefects, and there will be a couple of times when she comes second or third [in class] but she always works to go back to first.

“Sometimes I’ll tell her I have to work the money, and I cannot support her as much, because most of the time I come in, I can’t even help her with her homework because I’m so tired, and she does it on her own. I was so grateful when the teacher called me and said, ‘Alison is doing a CXC at the age of 14,’ and I said, ‘Okay.’ I’m here waiting on the results, and I’m really so grateful,” said Jones.

She said when she gave birth to Alison she never imagined that she would seek to aim so high at such a young age, but it is a journey she welcomes and is trying her hardest to show her daughter support. She encouraged parents to do the same and support their children’s dreams.

“Push them and say, ‘You can do it.’ Don’t ever say, ‘You can’t,’ ” she charged.