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Aristotle once said, “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” Malique Lindore is a fifteen-year-old, third-form student at Chase Academy, who is reaping the fruits of his labour. He wrote 12 subjects at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and copped eight (8) Grade Ones and four (4) Grade Twos! Malique’s achievement is noteworthy not only for how well he has done but also because most students sit the CSEC in fourth form.
Malique stated that he prepared for CSEC studying with his peers and would usually stay up late at night to continue studying and watch videos based on concepts and subject areas that he needed to improve on. Occasionally at school, he would skip his lunch period to go into the school’s laboratory and use the board to practise; this helped him to remember some concepts, as well as highlight areas that he needed to improve on.
Another method he utilised was to teach his friends various subjects so that he could further cement his knowledge on those said subjects while simultaneously assisting his peers get better at those subjects. For him, preparing for CSEC was a mental challenge, but he was able to overcome it with support from my family and friends along the way.
In the near future, he aspires to become a mechanical engineer.
“I feel extremely proud of what I have achieved, and ever since the results came out, I have felt much more motivated to continue my academic journey as well as my career journey,” he said.
His drive to write those subjects was mainly fuelled by his desire to make his mom proud. “Since NGSA, I had the goal of getting into a top school; unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic began, and I was set back. As a result, I never attained the top school I wanted. However, I made it a goal of mine to make up for that unfulfilled potential,” Lindore stated.
Additionally, his drive was also fuelled by his teachers, specifically Sir Seargent Calvin, Sir Ajay Kissoon, Sir Nkosi Jupiter, Sir Jumaine Hatton, Sir Franklin Langhorne, and Sir Henry Chase. Those teachers, in particular, were the ones who recognised Lindore’s potential and pushed him to deliver those great results.
“I would also like to thank Sir Seargent Calvin because, without him, I wouldn’t have such mathematical and scientific prowess. He is a teacher who has moulded my ability to solve problems in various subjects such as mathematics and chemistry, as well as Sir Nkosi Jupiter and Sir Ajay Kissoon,” he mentioned.
The challenge Malique faced was time management, as he needed a good schedule to balance SBA preparation and studying. He mentioned that he is a procrastinator, however he is working to fix that.
“It was hard battling my urge to do something other than my schoolwork, another challenge I faced was a sudden urge to give up during tough times on my journey, but through constant support from teachers, peers, and family, I endured and fought it,” he said.
“Find a great motivator; without motivation, you would never want to achieve anything. It could be a gift, it could be validation from associates, it could be family—anything that motivates you to achieve your goals would no doubt enhance your ability to persevere through any hardship you are facing and fight that tendency to give up,” is Malique’s simple yet powerful advice for younger students.
