-national squash player, musician, coach and valedictorian

By Daniel Haynes

At the age of 16, aspiring pediatrician Rebecca Low might just be one of the busiest teenagers around, and if she isn’t, well quite frankly she’s very close.

That is what happens when you mix drive, determination, good work ethic and a will to always be better.
She is an accomplished squash player, violinist, pianist, squash coach and the latest valedictorian of Marian Academy.
Rebecca Ashley Low was born October 25, 1999 and is the younger of two sisters. From an early age, Rebecca was always a bundle of energy and recalls having the drive to try different things.

“I was always energetic and adventurous since then and there wasn’t much I didn’t like to try,” stated Low. It was that adventurous spirit that pushed her at the age of six to start playing the piano and she hasn’t stopped since.
At age eight, she picked up the game of squash and, as is the case with many athletes, at first it was just for the sake of playing.
However, seriousness came three years later when she decided that this was something that she really wanted to do.
The decision was easy for Rebecca. She had just finished the Grade Six Assessment examination and could now settle down and devote more time to the sport. Despite achieving passing marks for Queens College in her exams, a Marian Academy baby by heart, Rebecca decided that she would continue her educational journey at Marian.
Her active participation in Squash picked up when at the tender age of 12, she broke into the Guyana Junior Squash Team-an accomplishment she is proud of to this date.
Her first outing on the international stage was in Jamaica at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Championships in 2012. She has competed every year since, with her most recent outing being Guyana’s recent win in the Cayman Islands. Despite finishing fifth individually against her age group champion, she helped in Guyana’s continued dominance to 12 straight CASA titles.

According to Rebecca, Squash has afforded her the opportunity to travel, something that she loves so much. “I’ve represented Guyana in Jamaica, Bermuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Cayman Islands; and I can’t describe the feeling to wear your country’s colours,” she stated.
This year was one that found her balancing her athletics and academics even more, since she had to write the CSEC exams offered by the Caribbean Examinations Council.
She attempted 13 subjects and came out in August with ten Grade Ones and three Grade Twos, graduating fifth form with the distinction of Valedictorian.
“I’ve always believed in working hard to achieve a goal and it’s dependent on you because you have to remember how many people are counting on you to succeed.”
However, the road has not been all sunshine and roses and there were times when Squash seemed to get the better of her.

“I always put pressure on myself to do well since I know what has been invested in me; and sometimes the pressure gets to me.”

The pressure that comes with sports is something that others find it hard to see, and for Rebecca, working hard has led to some of the “growing moments” in her life.
“For me I’ve grown so much stronger since playing squash, and I’ve found that I don’t need to walk into a match with so much pressure; it’s about having fun and just doing my best and if I gave a 100 and didn’t win alright, that’s fine.”
Currently, she is on the way to getting her level two coaching certificate, in an effort to give back to the sport and will be coaching young children on Saturdays. In addition to being a student of the game, she knows that some view Squash as being a “Rich man’s game”.

“I know that Squash is expensive, because gear is expensive and we can’t change the opinions of persons but it’s about bringing exposure to the game so that persons can see that it is hard work playing and training,” she stated. “Persons don’t see when we’re up early training while they are sleeping, and we’re pushing in all this hard work.”
For Rebecca, life is a bit simpler now since she has had more free time since starting Sixth Form at Marian. She is able to study more freely as well as train more regularly. Following her drive for more, she’s taking on the SAT exam in October in order to pursue studying in the United States and chase her squash and her dream of becoming a pediatrician.
“Ultimately I’m going to come home and live; I can’t see myself living anywhere else, but I want to experience the most of life right now and travel,” she laughed.
It seems as if right now she has it all figured out, and one cannot help but feel that with her drive, determination and will to always strive for more, the ball of irrepressible energy that is Rebecca Ashley Low will accomplish everything she has set out to do.