Ambitious PEP star heading off to Montego Bay High with big dreams
Published:Tuesday | August 6, 2024 | 12:09 AMAshley Anguin/Gleaner Writer
Western Bureau:
At 11 years old, Desandra Clarke, who was the highest-ranked Primary Exit Profile (PEP) student in western Jamaica for the 2023-2024 academic year, is full of big dreams and lofty ambitions.
The self-assured youngster, who wants to become a mathematics specialist, recently graduated from the Corinaldi Primary School, in St James, where her placement score of 393.1 out of 400 earned her a place at the school of her choice – Montego Bay High School.
“I feel very elated and ecstatic for this achievement. I was not surprised at the result because I worked hard for it, and I love studying and reading. My parents gave me pep talks and told me that, no matter what people say, I should keep going, and they motivated me to study and do what I should do,” Clarke told The Gleaner.
HIGH ACHIEVER
Desandra’s success is not surprising to her father, Desmond Clarke, who said she was always a high achiever from her days as a student at Montego Bay Infant School.
“Desandra is the type of child who is very determined, who does not settle for mediocre attainments. She always believes that she needs to strive for excellence, and she is always on that trajectory,” said the proud father. “She is very optimistic, and she has an aptitude for learning.”
According to Desandra’s father, she was very active at Corinaldi Primary School, where she was the captain of the Schools’ Challenge Quiz team for 2022-2023 and excelled at Spelling Bee. In fact, while she was at Montego Bay Infant School, she was a speller for the Kiwanis Spelling Club.
Looking forward to life at Montego Bay High School, Desandra is already setting her sights on becoming the school’s head girl when she becomes a senior student.
“I am looking forward to continuing for excellence, although I know it is not going to be easy. I want to achieve that and want to also be the head girl,” Desandra told The Gleaner.
Desandra was among the 350 students from St James who were beneficiaries of the New Fortress Energy Foundation’s annual back-to-school financial aid and fair, where the students were given back-to-school supplies.
A BIG PUSH
Arlene Reid-Clarke, Desandra’s mother, told The Gleaner that she always seeks to encourage Desandra and her other daughter to aspire to educational greatness.
“She is my wash belly,” said Reid-Clarke. “I always tell her that I want her to get what I never achieved in life, and that is education. I tell both my daughters that I didn’t get the opportunity that I would like to get when I was growing up, education-wise.”
“Along the way I tried to push them, I tried to encourage them, telling them that when you have a good education, you can become what you want to be, you can be independent, and that is one thing that I keep encouraging them in, to uplift them and to strive for greatness,” added Reid-Clarke.
From as early as her basic school days, Desandra had already charted a course for her life, which she has shared with her father.
“She told me that when she would have left Montego Bay Infant School, she would go to Corinaldi Primary, and from there she would go to Montego Bay High School, and from there she would be going off to college,” said her father. “She also said that one of these days she would be living in Canada.”