RESEDA Hack is a resident of Bartica, but after gaining a place at Queen’s College in 2013, when she wrote the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), her parents, Carl and Petal Hack, had to make a profound decision as to whether she should remain in Bartica to complete her secondary education, or whether she should take the move to the capital city.
The latter, they knew would have come with a plethora of difficulties and challenges but they reasoned that those challenges would have been worth the while, for his only daughter to attend Guyana’s top-ranking high school.

Five years later, the fruits of their labour were not in vain, as Reseda made her family’s sacrifices far from regrettable, after gaining 15 Grade Ones at this year’s CSEC examination, copping the eighth spot in the entire country. The 17-year-old, as any other high achiever, is very elated but as she reminisced on all the sacrifices her parents made for her to attend school in Georgetown, her main reason for rejoicing was that she made them proud.

The hardest of all the sacrifices was that her small and close-knit family had to be split for the five years. “It was extremely difficult for me to leave Bartica, as I left everything that I knew and was comfortable with. I basically took my mom away from her husband and family and caused them to invest millions into getting things in order for me to have a comfortable life in Georgetown. For that I’m eternally indebted to them and to God, I’m extremely grateful to them for making such a huge sacrifice for my sake, and to God for giving them the strength to make it,” the high-achiever noted.

\Her parents had to rent a home, made sure it was furnished and had all the necessary amenities to ensure, she was comfortable. While many people would reason, it did not call for all of that sacrifice, as the old saying goes, ‘if you think education is cheap, try ignorance. ’ Those words strengthened her parents every time they faced those hefty monthly bills, she added.

As Reseda reminisced on the big move, she said, “Honestly it was quite frustrating at first to be in a completely foreign environment, I remember my second day of school, I cried like a baby because I missed home. The weekends used to be the highlight of my week because on Friday afternoons after school, my mom and I would travel to Bartica but I hated Monday mornings, in having to leave my home again, not to mention having to be awake at three o’clock so that we could get a boat to travel.”

She described the period as the most difficult in her life that took a toll on her family mentally, emotionally and physically. That is why I tried my best to make them proud at every exam I took or every piece of coursework I did.”

When CSEC got closer, those weekend trips home turned to months because of the heavier workload, the longer hours at school and extra classes, but at that time she had found new friends who she said turned into family and so those longer stays became easier for her as time progressed. The results came as a complete surprise to her but she is happy, she made her family proud. She expressed appreciation to all her teachers, relatives and friends who would have contributed in whatever way throughout her primary and secondary school life.

Reseda also thanked the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs for affording her a scholarship. Her encouragement to others that may be in a similar position is, to remain focused, work hard and their main goal must be to make their parents proud. Reseda will continue to make the sacrifice of having a split household as she commenced her Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) studies at QC in Natural Sciences.