| After five years of hard work and hours of gruelling classes, extra lessons, working through the holidays and studying night after night, the wait is finally over. CSEC results are here.The Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate is the pinnacle of high school for any student, since it is necessary to move on to the next phase of life, whether it be working or studying. This year there were 188 students out of an entire batch of 70,000 who scored eight or more grade Ones at the CSEC examinations. Kaieteur News has chosen to look at those exceptional students who have managed to gain 13 or more grade ones.Coming in at the top of that list this year are two exceptional young ladies, both of whom gained 15 grade Ones at CSEC. The top position will be decided by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) but it is known that the ranking is weighed in favour of science subjects, since these are generally more demanding than the arts subjects at the CSEC level.Anuradha DevThe first young lady is 15-year-old Anuradha Dev who gained 15 grade Ones with a lot of hard work and surprisingly, no extra lessons. The young lady told Kaieteur News that she did a lot of work with her father, Ravi, who was with her every step of the way. Together they covered the material ahead of her classes so that going to class was like revision.Her immediate plans are to return to Queen’s College where she will enter the sixth form this new academic year. Anuradha stated that she was very interested in medicine and that she intends to specialize in Psychiatry where she feels there is a great need for more willing specialists.She intends to focus on suicides, especially among youths, and says that she knows she will make a change in those numbers. The young lady absolutely loves reading, looking at movies and watching cricket. She says that she also spends a lot of time with her family in their religious works, which are a big part of their lives.Shalita AppaduShalita Appadu, 16, of Auchlyne, Corentyne, scored 15 Grade Ones and has at present also secured the top spot in the country along with Anuradha Dev of Queen’s College.The ecstatic young lady said “I had a lot of support from my parents, my brother and aunts and uncles. My teachers worked assiduously with me, especially Ms Davie Sanichara and Nazeem Sattaur. They were always here to assist me, they never backed out.”A major challenge during the entire exam preparation period, Appadu recalled, was when she lost all her work stored on the computer after it crashed. She had to complete most of her SBAs all over again.“I ended up doing some of my SBA’s twice.”The devout Hindu noted that they did not have a lot of subject teachers, and had to manage to get the work done, with the help of lessons. Appadu praised her high school, New Amsterdam Multilateral Secondary, for “doing it again” – getting the top student of the region.“Well, the thing about Multi that I like is that they don’t spoon-feed you. You have to research to get your work done. They wont feed you the information, so when you’re ready to go to university, you can handle the work. I would like to thank Multi for that,” she said.The next two top spots went to Mariesa Jagnanan and Jonelle James both of Queen’s College, and both of whom earned themselves 14 grade ones.Asaf MohamedAsaf Mohamed, another 16-year-old student of Queen’s College who copped 13 grade Ones at this year’s CSEC examinations, is very excited and thankful that all his “hard work” paid off. The young man explained that his parents played a pivotal role in his academic life, preparing him for the assessments, encouraging and supporting him throughout the journey.“My parents were very influential in my success. My teachers were also very helpful. I also say thanks to my friends for being there as we went through our experiences together,” said Mohamed. His immediate venture is to attend the Sixth Form of Queen’s College and continue studies at a University in the field of Geology.Nirmela GovindaAfter attaining 13 grade ones, Nirmela Govinda secured herself a position among the top students in Guyana. The Queen’s College student told this newspaper that she accomplished this feat after much hard work. It entailed no television, no cell phones, no computer and late night studying. She said that her motivations came from her teachers, who would tell her on many occasions that they hoped to see her name in the newspapers.“But it was mainly because of my mother, she stood by me and my achievements today are because of her, when my dad died I was crushed, but I took this exam as an opportunity to make him proud, like my mom, he too always believed I could touch the sky if I tried.”The aspiring Bone Specialist told this publication that she would be continuing on to sixth form at her Queen’s College and plans to enroll in the University of Guyana before furthering her studies at an international level.Zainab Abdul KarimZainab is an aspiring cardiologist who seems to be well on her way to her dreams after copping 13 grade ones. The Mackenzie High student is the lone representative of her school and her region in the top ten this year. She said she gave all the glory to God; for without him her success would not have been possible. She also credited her mother, and said she really loved her for all that she did.She declared,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, “When you congratulate me, you shouldn’t think about congratulating me, because my mom is the one who should be congratulated for her hard work and my dad for all the sacrifices he has made.”Zainab said that even though her dad is not here, he has always supported her and encouraged her when he could. Zainab said she hopes to get a scholarship to China, but if that isn’t possible she will enter Sixth Form at Queen’s College and from there work for a scholarship.Seriena AlliSeriena Alli of Abram’s Zuil Secondary School managed to top both her school and her region at this year’s sitting of CSEC, however Kaieteur News was unable to catch up with the young lady yesterday.Nicholas Koyglass“I am elated, amazed, extremely happy and overjoyed about my success at CXC,” were the opening remarks of 16-year-old Nicholas Koyglass, a student of Queen’s College who secured a spot in the top 10 CSEC students this year.The aspiring neurosurgeon told Kaieteur News that he owed everything to the Almighty, praising and thanking God for his outstanding performance at this year’s CSEC examinations.He attributed his motivation to his parents, especially his mother, and his teachers and friends who were encouraging him and supporting him along the way. Koyglass emphasized that his entire family helped develop a “study timetable” where he focused mainly on the subjects he “didn’t like” first and left the others he was more competent in, for last. Nicholas plans to continue his studies at Queen’s College and then register at a University abroad to pursue studies in the field of medicine.Other top performers are Amrita Milling, Queen’s College – 13 grade ones; Sanjiv Nandalal, Saraswatie Vidya Niketan – 13 grade ones. |
