Georgetown resident Shanelle Clarke of the Community College Division of Arts, Sciences and General Studies is this year’s top performer in the CAPE/Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations.{{more}}

She placed herself in contention for a national scholarship by scoring grade ones in the CAPE’s Computer Science Units One and Two; grade ones with A profiles in the CAPE Mathematics Units One and Two; grade A for GCE Physics, grade A for GCE Chemistry and grade two for Communication Studies.

The 18-year-old is now hoping that a national scholarship will allow her to pursue her dream of becoming an Aeronautical Engineer.

Other outstanding performances at the Division of Arts, Sciences and General Studies were achieved by Jeniele Dennie, Javil Paris, Chanielle DaSilva, Omar Malcolm, Ezron John, Shanice Thompson, Calisia Glasgow, Jacinth Browne, Rhonelle Buntyn, Amanda DeFreitas and Cassica Hutchins .

Tears streamed down Shanelle’s face last Friday during an interview with SEARCHLIGHT, as she praised God and gave a special thanks to her grandmother Rozena Clarke for moulding her into the individual that she has become.

“First and foremost I have to thank God. I don’t believe I did this by myself. I would have fallen flat on my face if it was me alone,” said Shanelle.

“My Granny felt proud. I think she is even more happy than me,” said Shanelle, adding “I want to also thank her for her tough love.”

Shanelle told SEARCHLIGHT that her mother Eflyn Clarke died when she was only three years old and her grandmother was the one who raised her on her own.

She however beamed with smiles as she spoke of her achievement in the recent examinations.

The teenager said that she was at home on Tuesday, August 24, when a lecturer called and informed her that her GCE A’Level results were back. At that time she had already received her CAPE results.

“I was joyful at the moment, but I kept calm. Last Wednesday when I came and saw that I got As I was ecstatic. I had to scream,” said Shanelle.

Reflecting on her exams, Shanelle said she mainly concentrated on the GCE subjects, having heard claims by many people that they are “hard”. She said she proved that this was indeed true, after being tested in ten papers for her two GCE subjects.

“This was so much pressure,” she sighed.

The pressue did not end after the examinations as Shanelle spent most of the summer vacation dreaming about her performance.

“I started dreaming. I dreamt I failed everything and I ended up being a vagrant. I also dreamt that I got two As, but I also dreamt that I got Bs then two Es,” said Shanelle.

Shanelle acknowledged that Mathematics was her most challenging subject.

“I remember after Maths, I had a headache.”

Shanelle advises students entering tertiary level institutions not to take their studies for granted.

“Coming to College is a lot of fun and you can be easily distracted. I am not saying that you shouldn’t have fun, but you should have your priorities straight,” she warned.

“My advice from one student to another is start studying early. I used to study around the clock; my Granny use to say ‘Shanelle you have to stop’,” recalled Shanelle, noting that she had also stopped eating properly. She is advising students to guard against allowing this to happen to them.

“A lot of people think that I am bright, but I think I just recall a bit more than most people or apply myself a bit more. So I won’t really say I am bright,” said Shanelle, as she highlighted the importance of hard work.

“I think everybody has the potential to do well,” she noted.

Shanelle said she admires Javil Paris for being even more dedicated to his studies than she was to hers.

“I want to say thanks to my family, immediate and extended, because sometimes I do it for them to make them proud and to be better for them. …I want to say thanks to my friends for being there. I also want to say thanks to the people in my community for saying ‘congrats’ and for pushing me. Thanks also to my teachers because you need somebody to help you along and they were there. Thanks to the people that I might have missed,” said Shanelle, who received the Divisional award for Excellence in the areas of Physics, Computer Science and Mathematics at the Community College’s recent graduation. Shanelle was also Valedictorian in 2008 when she graduated from the Girls’ High School.