Jamaican teen tops Caribbean scholars

For Dora Watt, a former student of the Montego Bay High School in St James, there is much to be proud of, having copped the award for most outstanding performance in humanities in the 2022 sitting of the Caribbean Examinations Council's (CXC) Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

The 19-year-old Christian, who hails from Bethel Town in Westmoreland, made her family and friends proud when she walked on the stage to receive her prestigious award during a ceremony at the Ministry of Education and Youth in Kingston, on February 9. She was among nine Jamaican students receiving regional awards for excelling in the CAPE and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate [CSEC] examinations.

"I was proud because, while... yes, I did well and was receiving this award, I also realised what it meant for my family and what it meant for my community [and] my school. I was beyond ecstatic coming to terms with what this award meant," Watt told JIS News. Her CAPE accomplishment includes grade one in units one and two of law and sociology; grade one in history unit one and grade two in history unit two. Watt also achieved grade I in Caribbean studies and communication studies.

She credits her success to her "strong support system" that encompasses her family, friends and teachers, her parents' sacrifice to give her the best education she could have, and sleepless nights spent studying, practising and completing all her internal assessments.

"I just went into the exams, prayed about it, put my best foot forward and completed them. When the results came out [I] was [initially] disappointed because, to me, they were not reflecting what I thought I put in. But then when my teachers spoke to me, they [said] 'Do you know you did extremely well?'," Watt explained. "Having reflected on the struggles that I went through throughout the year, I realised that the results were truly exceptional. It's afterwards that I found out that I was getting this award."

In grade 12, she ended up on the CXC's merits list for the region following her CAPE results, and again made the list in grade 13. Watt, who is the second of five siblings, also holds several CSEC subjects including grade one for English language, clothing and textiles, history, human and social biology.

"I kept telling myself [that] I cannot allow my parents' sacrifices to go to waste, and the sacrifices of those who invested in me. So on the day [I was awarded] I was extremely glad that they were in a position where they could be proud of the accomplishments of their daughter. I said, 'Mommy and Daddy, savour this moment'," she shared. She also thanked her extended family, friends, her community, and family friends for their encouragement.

"This is a feat that I do not think I would be able to accomplish on my own," she added.

Having taken a year off school to serve as an intern at the Montego Bay Restorative Justice Centre through HEART/NSTA Trust, Watt now has her sights set on resuming her education at The University of the West Indies, Mona campus in St Andrew, where she'll pursue a law degree. She is steadily planning for her enrollment and is even using her job at the restorative justice centre to prepare. She encouraged other youth to "take responsibility" for their learning and get into the habit of reading.

"Extensive reading always pays off. It never hurts anyone. Reading just helps you in every subject area. If you read, you'll find that you are a superior candidate than many of the other students who would opt not to read as much as you did," she points out.