Glenmuir High’s Max Leiba continuing a trail of excellence

Glenmuir High School student Max Leiba, despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, breezed through the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams by getting straight A profiles in all but two of his 10 subjects. Among the subjects he aced are additional maths, biology, mathematics, chemistry and physics.

On Monday when the results were released, Max’s mother Michelle and and sister Abigail Leiba, upon seeing them shouted in jubilation, while Max looked on casually.

The youngster, in an interview with The Gleaner, said he had no need to get excited.

“I was not really surprised. Mommy and Abigail were jumping up and down but I was just there looking at it. I knew the hard work I put in. There was no surprise to me,” he said nonchalantly.

Now on his sixth-form journey, Max said that he will be working towards his ultimate goal of becoming a neurosurgeon.

Commenting on her son’s success, Michelle attributed it to him being a person who is self-motivated

“We are elated and we are extremely proud of him,” she said. She also credit’s her son’s work ethic to his big sister Abigail, who is now an attorney-at-law.

She said Abigail, being nine years his senior, set the trail for him as he grew up watching her study every evening, so that became the norm for him too.

“He was always looking up to her, so it was no problem when it was his time to do the work,” she said.

Throughout his Glenmuir journey, Michelle said he remained an honour roll student, sometimes being on the “distinguished honour roll”, graduating with double honours.

Young Leiba’s track record in excellence started as a student of Foundation Preparatory School where he was the top performing Grade Six Achievement Test boy for Jamaica in 2017, having earned a perfect score.

At his fifth form graduation in July, he was awarded the highest academic honour, with his mother Michelle proudly posting on her social media page, “You went in a star and came out a star … We are so proud of you!”

Cognisant of his success and remembering those who didn’t get the results they wanted, Max used the opportunity to advise them not to not be discouraged and give up, but rather “try again and work harder”.

“Get extra classes if it is needed as I, too, got extra classes,” he said.