–Young scholar displays great wisdom and humility

BEING born into one of Guyana’s most affluent families, Arya Mohamed is one of the most humble, well-grounded, and wise 12-year-olds you will encounter.

This self-taught pianist and table tennis genius, recipient of the third-highest marks in Guyana at the 2022 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations, and valedictorian of Success Elementary School doesn’t feel any sense of self-entitlement for her accomplishments thus far. Instead, she believes in working hard for what she wants to accomplish in her life.

Arya told the Pepperpot Magazine that accomplishing her dream at the NGSA exams wasn’t a walk in the park for her; that there were times when she felt like she couldn’t go on.

“I am very satisfied with my accomplishments, because it is something for which I have worked for quite some time; two years and all the struggles. But after I wrote the exams and got my results, it was such a relief to know that I finally accomplished my long-term goal of becoming one of the top students for NGSA and my school,” she explained. “I am humbly proud of myself, because it was very difficult to go through this, as I am sure it was for the other children who did it.”

Arya continued by relating that the simplest of tasks, like picking up a pencil and writing “a piece of information” were very tiring for her. Still, she put in the work and made sacrifices, sometimes getting only 30 minutes of sleep after studying.

Even though the 12-year-old has a solid support system, she extended special thanks to her mother and teachers for never giving up on her.

“I owe everything to three main people: First of all, the most important person is my mom. She stayed up with me, even though it was in the morning hours. At 5am., after my prayers, I would revise and my mom was always there, saying, ‘Arya, you can’t give up now, you worked so hard, and have come such a long way; do not give up now,’” she recalled. “My mom always encouraged me, and ensured that I got all the resources that I needed; she played a very great role in supporting me, and I love her for that.”

The other two people that Arya was referring to were her teachers, Sir Success and Sir Derrick Persaud. According to the valedictorian, she was away from school for two weeks the month before her exams, due to an illness, but the two teachers ensured that the work was sent to her.

“Even though my teachers sent me the work, it touched my heart, because it showed that they care,” Arya said.
According to Arya, all children should be treated equally in their schools, regardless of their level of achievement. She believes that everyone studies to the best of their ability, and no one should be seen as greater than another.

“Everyone is different, and we have to remember that one man’s meat is another man’s poison,” said the wise twelve-year-old.

Arya took the opportunity to ask that all teachers across Guyana teach from their hearts. “Touch the children’s hearts and souls, and you will see the results,” said Arya.

Her firm belief is that those gestures will make the children feel cared for, loved, and appreciated, inspiring them to give their all.

Apart from Arya’s academics, she doesn’t believe that the sky is the limit for her. “For me, the sky is not the limit, when there are footprints on the moon,” she said.

Arya explained that the future has a lot of twists and turns, and life is unpredictable, so she isn’t sure what she will do in her professional career, but more than likely, Arya said, she may go into business, since she would like to follow in her father Azruddin Mohamed’s and her grandfather Nazar Mohamed’s footsteps.

Finally, Arya said to all Guyanese, especially her young peers, “Time is something valuable, and procrastination is the thief of time.”

Arya’s mother, Nadia Mohamed, told the Pepperpot Magazine, “That is just Arya; this moment is the same as all others. We are humbled and overjoyed for her; she puts in a lot of hard work, and always gives 100 per cent to what she does. Arya is a person who questions everything and everyone if she gets something wrong. She even requests that her teachers show her where she went wrong in a problem, and demonstrate where and why she is incorrect. She takes her work seriously. I was expecting her to do well; I knew she would have done well.”