GUYANA recently witnessed releases of the preliminary Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE), and the official National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results, all for 2022. The nation remained glued to screens to catch a glimpse of the top performers, as is customary annually. But there are other stories to be told, and this newspaper has taken much pride in ensuring that stories of not only success, but also stories of perseverance, resilience, and ingenuity take centre stage in print and online coverage.

On September 14, Sarah Baharally of Kabakaburi Mission, along the Pomeroon River, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) was featured. Sarah, an aspiring astrophysicist and the daughter of a primary school teacher, landed a spot at Queen’s College. Moving and resettling can be a daunting experience for some families, but despite a few relocations, sometimes across administrative regions, Sarah managed to remain grounded and focused on her studies. She will be oriented also to the University of Guyana Regional Acceleration for STEM Students Readiness (UG-RASSR) where her passion for science will be nurtured.

For 17-year-old Daniel Dowding, one of the country’s top performers at the CSEC exams, he credited his successes to strong support systems including his family, friends, community, and his church. Surely, it could never be an easy feat to secure 22 grade one passes, and three grade twos. However, Daniel, who said he wasn’t ‘tech savvy’ at all, said he adopted unconventional methods like developing accents for different countries when he read about the history of those specific countries. Daniel aspires to be a marine biologist.

Over in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Hemwantie Sahadeo, of Uniform village aback Leguan Island, recounted the difficult financial toll of lessons fees on the family’s income. Losing her mother at the age of six, Hemwantie feels that she (her mom) would have been proud of her. The daughter of a farmer, Hemwantie hopes to remain on Leguan Island to work, but has hopes of studying at Humber College in Canada. With nine grade ones and three grade twos, the 17-year-old, who was raised mostly by her aunt but still received support from her father and two brothers, recounted wanting to give up, but urged the need to keep one’s head high even in the most difficult situations.

At 11 years old, Hakim Hawker of Philippi Village, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) wants to be a judge. With a spot reserved for him at Queen’s College after a stellar performance at the NGSA exams, Hakim recounted having to lessen the distractions around him like his gadgets and overall screen time in order to focus on his studies. A Roblox video game fanatic, this was a major step for him. Also the child of a school teacher, Hakim dreams of helping people to solve problems and ensure that justice is served. He’s also a fan of Judge Judy.

While the list of featured success stories is not yet exhausted, for the sake of column inches, attention will be drawn to one other shining star featured by this newspaper, and that’s 12-year-old Felicity Ram, an entrepreneur of Port Mourant Primary School, Berbice. Felicity juggled studying for the NGSA exams while also filling orders for her customers which were mostly self-care and personal hygiene items. The ambitious learner will attend The Bishops’ High School, but certainly will have to put plans in place to ensure that her business, which she started with the help of her mother and grandmother, survives.

With the concerns of reported learning loss as a result of online schooling which seemed to be the only solution globally as the world wrestled with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the Education Ministry here, with Minister Priya Manickchand leading many of the community outreaches, has adopted a number of innovative approaches to not only return children to the classroom, both virtually and physically, but also ensure that proper planning is in place for any unforeseen eventuality that could disrupt learning. The focus, now more than ever, has been on education equity. With these young ambitions minds leading the charge, the country is certainly in good hands.