Aspiring petroleum engineer tops CSEC with 19 Grade Ones

BY VAHNU MANICKCHAND

Hard work, dedication and sacrifices were among the efforts made by the students who copped the country’s top spots at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination.

Of the 12,809 candidates who wrote the examination this year, some 157 students secured Grade One passes in eight or more subjects. However, only 46 candidates obtained 11 or more Grade Ones.
Securing the top spot this year is St Rose’s High School student, 16-year-old Fatima Karim, who wrote 20 subjects and obtained 19 Grade Ones and one Grade Two. Speaking with Guyana Times, the young woman expressed her excitement and relief with her results, noting that she is proud of her achievement.
“I was pleasantly surprised with the grades… I was expecting to do well but I didn’t know that I would top the country. I found out about my grades like two hours before the press conference and was really excited but I still didn’t know I topped the country, and I was watching the press conference with my family and when they called out my name, the house went wild and the phone began to ring and it was crazy after that,” she recalled.

The next move for the young woman will be to further her studies at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) level, after which she is hoping to attend the University of Texas in the United States, where she plans to pursue petroleum engineering, following in the footsteps of her uncles and grandfather.
“My uncles, grandfather and one of my cousins are in the engineering field and they pushed me towards it but I wasn’t sure what area I would be getting into until the oil find last year. So I decided that I will get into petroleum engineering so that I can be able to help my country to develop,” she remarked.
Meanwhile, Kayshav Tewari of Queen’s College copped the second spot with 19 Grade Ones. The young man said that he knew he would have done well and is pleased with his performance.
“I had no doubts in my mind that I would achieve good results, I always knew I could do it… The exams were easy for me but it was preparation that was most difficult and challenging. Many times I would go to bed at four in the morning and get up back at six, so it was a lot of hard work but in the end, it paid off,” he explained.
Tewari told Guyana Times that he will be furthering his studies at Nations University after which he wants to study engineering. However, he noted that his main goal is to get into entrepreneurship; as such, he will definitely be pursuing an MBA.
Another QC student, Aadilah Ali, came in the third spot with 18 Grade Ones, three Grade Twos and one Grade Three, while her fellow schoolmate, Sariah Singh copped the fifth position with 18 Grade Ones.
Ali, who is currently on vacation overseas, told Guyana Times that she did not expect to do so well. “I was surprised at my achievements, owing to the fact that some of the exams were a bit difficult for me but I thank God for all that I’ve accomplished and by mercy I did well,” the young woman said.
She plans to continue her studies at the Sixth Form level after which she will pursue medicine in hopes of becoming a paediatrician.
On the other hand, the outlining regions have forced their way into this year’s top line-up, dominating most of the top spots. The Sarawati Vidya Niketan (SVN) school in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) copped three spots in the top 10.
Ramkumarie Ramdass secured 18 Grade Ones and one Grade Two to cop the fourth position; Kimberly Najab in seventh with 15 Grade Ones and three Grade Twos; Pritisha Baldeo in the ninth spot with 14 Grade Ones, three Grade Twos and three Grade Threes, and at the 10th spot is Narindra Persaud with 14 Ones, three Grade Twos and three Grade Threes.
An aspiring entrepreneur, Najab said she was expecting to do a little better but is nevertheless satisfied with her performance. Her advice to next year’s hopefuls is to, “work hard for what you want to achieve in your life and find an inspiration. Motivation is very important in achieving greatness.”
For Baldeo, her success was not without hard work, with the many hours that went into studying. “So when I saw my results, I was overjoyed and relieved because I met my own expectations,” said the young woman who aspires to become a paediatrician.
Moreover, Persaud said that while he expected to do well, he was overwhelmed with his success and relieved that his hard work had paid off. He related that the exams were a bit challenging but he found that his study strategy helped. “If I felt I was deficient in any way in a particularly area, I would focus on that subject until I felt comfortable,” he explained.
Additionally, Kevall Lall of Anna Regina Secondary came in the eighth spot with 15 Grade Ones. The 17-year-old lad is an aspiring civil engineer and said he could not have made this accomplishment without the support of his mother, uncles and siblings. He will be furthering his studies at Nations University.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Joshua Indarjit of Line Path Secondary copped the sixth spot with 17 Grade Ones. Speaking with this newscast, the aspiring engineering was elated with his performance.
“I’m very excited about my results and ecstatic about my performance,” Indarjit told this newspaper when contacted. Like the other top performers, the young man explained that he found it challenging when he was doing the SBA’s since it would take up a lot of his time thus preventing him from studying more.
Nevertheless, the young man, who has his eyes set on becoming an engineer or physicist, thanked his teacher and family for supporting and encouraging him.